No man learns to know his inmost nature by introspection, for he rates himself sometimes too low, and often too high, by his own measurement. Man knows himself only by comparing himself with other men; it is life that touches his genuine worth.

Thus one can observe that those who proclaim piety as their goal and purpose usually turn into hypocrites.

Nothing is good for a nation but that which arises from its own core and its own general wants, without apish imitation of another.

Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but less interesting than looking.

A really great talent finds its happiness in execution.

Alas, I have studied philosophy, the law as well as medicine, and to my sorrow, theology; studied them well with ardent zeal, yet here I am, a wretched fool, no wiser than I was before.

How happy he who can still hope to lift himself from this sea of error! What we know not, that we are anxious to possess, and cannot use what we know.