Whatever we treasure for ourselves separates us from others; our possessions are our limitations.

Ah, thou hast made my heart captive in the endless meshes of thy music, my master!

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength. Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved but hope for the patience to win my freedom. Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling your mercy in my success alone; but let me find the grasp of your hand in my failure.

The sparrow is sorry for the peacock at the burden of its tail.

that which is eternal within the moment only becomes shallow if spread out in time.

It is no easy task to lead men. But it is easy enough to drive them.

If thou speakest not I will fill my heart with thy silence and endure it. I will keep still and wait like the night with starry vigil and its head bent low with patience. The morning will surely come, the darkness will vanish, and thy voice pour down in golden streams breaking through the sky. Then thy words will take wing in songs from every one of my birds' nests, and thy melodies will break forth in flowers in all my forest groves.