We laugh at a man who, stepping out of his room at the very minute when the sun is rising, says, “It is my will that the sun shall rise”; or at him who, unable to stop a wheel, says, “I wish it to roll”; or, again, at him who, thrown in a wrestling match, says, “Here I lie, but here I wish to lie.” But, joking apart, do we not act like one of these three persons whenever we use the expression “I wish”?

In magnanimity there is the same amount of egoism as in revenge, but egoism of a different quality.

It is not when truth is dirty, but when it is shallow, that the lover of knowledge is reluctant to step into its waters.

Pity makes suffering contagious.

The consequences of our actions take hold of us, quite indifferent to our claim that meanwhile we have 'improved.

Here the ways of men divide. If you wish to strive for peace of soul and happiness, then believe; if you wish to be a disciple of truth, then inquire.

It is certainly not the least charm of a theory that it is refutable.