The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready is he to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.

The world leans on us. When we sag, the whole world seems to droop.

There is no loneliness greater than the loneliness of a failure. The failure is a stranger in his own house.

When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.

We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.

It is a talent of the weak to persuade themselves that they suffer for something when they suffer from something; that they are showing the way when they are running away; that they see the light when they feel the heat; that they are chosen when they are shunned.

Naivete in grownups is often charming; but when coupled with vanity it is indistinguishable from stupidity.