The most difficult thing in the world is to say thinkingly what everybody says without thinking.

It is not difficult to be unhappy or discontented; all you have to do is sit down, like a prince waiting to be amused. ... It is impossible to be happy if one does not have the desire to be happy; one must therefore will one's happiness, and create it.

Two things are aesthetically perfect in the world - the clock and the cat.

Wouldn't a sailor laugh at you if you told him that the whole crossing depends on the first turn of the helm?

I have only one thing to say to the melancholy man: 'Look into the distance.' ... When you look at the stars or the ocean's expanse, your eye is completely relaxed; once your eye is relaxed, your mind is unfettered.

People who are upset about something ruminate on it whenever they get a chance; they are constantly drawn back to their own unhappy tale as if it were a horror story left open on a table.

The most difficult thing in the world is to say thinkingly what everybody says without thinking.