Necessity is always the first stimulus to industry, and those who conduct it with prudence, perseverance and energy will rarely fail. Viewed in this light, the necessity of labor is not a chastisement, but a blessing,--the very root and spring of all that we call progress in individuals and civilization in nations.

The very greatest things - great thoughts, discoveries, inventions - have usually been nurtured in hardship, often pondered over in sorrow, and at length established with difficulty.

Diligence, above all, is the mother of good luck.

The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once.

Alexander the Great valued learning so highly, that he used to say he was more indebted to Aristotle for giving him knowledge than to his father Philip for life.

Hope... is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.

Cheerfulness is also an excellent wearing quality. It has been called the bright weather of the heart.