You can construct the character of a man and his age not only from what he does and says, but from what he fails to say and do.

Never take a solemn oath. People think you mean it.

What is all wisdom save a collection of platitudes? Take fifty of our current proverbial sayings—they are so trite, so threadbare, that we can hardly bring our lips to utter them. None the less they embody the concentrated experience of the race, and the man who orders his life according to their teaching cannot go far wrong. How easy that seems! Has any one ever done so? Never. Has any man ever attained to inner harmony by pondering the experience of others? Not since the world began! He must pass through the fire.

One can always trust to time. Insert a wedge of time and nearly everything straightens itself out.

Why always "not yet"? Do flowers in spring say "not yet"?

Has any man ever obtained inner harmony by simply reading about the experiences of others? Not since the world began has it ever happened. Each man must go through the fire himself.

The business of life is to enjoy oneself; everything else is a mockery.