I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wants.

That we understand something perfectly, that we accomplish something better than anyone else around us, that is what matters.

Does not man lack the force at the very point where he needs it most? And when he soars upward in joy, or sinks down in suffering, is not checked in both, is he not returned again to the dull, cold sphere of awareness, just when he was longing to lose himself in the fullness of the infinite.

In praising or loving a child, we love and praise not that which is, but that which we hope for.

The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves.

He who is resolute conquers grief.

No one can take from us the joy of the first becoming aware of something, the so-called discovery. But if we also demand the honor, it can be utterly spoiled for us, for we are usually not the first. What does discovery mean, and who can say that he has discovered this or that? After all it's pure idiocy to brag about priority; for it's simply unconscious conceit, not to admit frankly that one is a plagiarist.