No man is nobler born than another, unless he is born with better abilities and a more amiable disposition. They who make such a parade with their family pictures and pedigrees, are, properly speaking, rather to be called noted or notorious than noble persons. I thought it right to say this much, in order to repel the insolence of men who depend entirely upon chance and accidental circumstances for distinction, and not at all on public services and personal merit.

To rule yourself is the ultimate power

He invites the commission of a crime who does not forbid it, when it is in his power to do so.

What is true belongs to me!

A friend always loves, but he who loves is not always a friend.

You cease to be afraid when you cease to hope; for hope is accompanied by fear.

The greatest loss of time is delay and expectation, which depend upon the future. We let go the present, which we have in our power, and look forward to that which depends upon chance, and so relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty.