There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how you use them.

Enjoying praise is in some people merely a civility of the heart--and just the opposite of a vanity of the spirit.

One often contradicts an opinion when what is uncongenial is really the tone in which it was conveyed.

A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us.

Those who show pity and are always ready to help during times of trouble are seldom the same ones who rejoice in our joy: when others are happy they have nothing to do, they become superfluous and lose their feeling of superiority, and so they easily show their displeasure.

Of what is great one must either be silent or speak with greatness. With greatness--that means cynically and with innocence.

Do you suppose that sacrifice is the hallmark of moral action?--Just stop to consider whether sacrifice is not involved in every action that is done with deliberation, the worst as well as the best.