“It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen of the jury; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.”

Nobody is qualified to become a statesman who is entirely ignorant of the problem of wheat.

From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.

Everything is plainer when spoken than when unspoken.

Remember, no human condition is ever permanent. Then you will not be overjoyed in good fortune, nor too sorrowful in misfortune.

To be is to do.

Give me beauty in the inward soul; may the outward and the inward man be at one.

By far the greatest and most admirable form of wisdom is that needed to plan and beautify cities and human communities.

My plainness of speech makes them hate me, and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth.

To find yourself, think for yourself.

Be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death.

One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.

The really important thing is not to live, but to live well. And to live well meant, along with more enjoyable things in life, to live according to your principles.

I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.

Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.

Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.

What we avoid, controls us.

Avoid teams at all cost. Keep your circle small. Never join a group that has a name.

There seems to be no limit to which some men will go to avoid the labor of thinking. Thinking is hard work.

There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the real labor of thinking.

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it.

The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided, but never hit softly.

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

Pilots naturally fly the craft in such a manner as to take advantage of its good characteristics and avoid the areas where it is not so good.