“The first thing you have to know is yourself. A man who knows himself can step outside himself and watch his own reactions like an observer.”

In the long-run the workman may be as necessary to his master as his master is to him, but the necessity is not so immediate.

Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.

I am a beau in nothing but my books.

The great secret of education is to direct vanity to proper objects.

Resentment seems to have been given us by nature for a defense, and for a defense only! It is the safeguard of justice and the security of innocence.

Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.

In a militia, the character of the laborer, artificer, or tradesman, predominates over that of the soldier: in a standing army, that of the soldier predominates over every other character.

The game women play is men.

The man scarce lives who is not more credulous than he ought to be. The natural disposition is always to believe. It is acquired wisdom and experience only that teach incredulity, and they very seldom teach it enough.

The world neither ever saw, nor ever will see, a perfectly fair lottery.

Goods can serve many other purposes besides purchasing money, but money can serve no other purpose besides purchasing goods.

I have no faith in political arithmetic.

Never complain of that of which it is at all times in your power to rid yourself.

The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence.

No complaint is more common than that of a scarcity of money.

Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the means of their subsistence.

Thought creates character.

People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them.

For me the most important thing is being a really good person, and that doesn’t depend on what you do on stage, that depends on how you treat people when you’re offstage.

Cry Baby is just a character in this world that I’m trying to create, and the music videos are really important to me, and I’ve fought to obviously get all of them approved.

Lil’ Kim is my stage name and a character I use when I’m out working my livelihood.

The end of knowledge is wisdom The end of culture is perfection The end of wisdom is freedom The end of education is character. And character consists of eagerness to renounce one’s selfish greed.

Character is the most precious gift of education.

I run my operation like a family business. I sign every check, every receipt, I’m not tough, but I’m strong.