“To array a man’s will against his sickness is the supreme art of medicine.”

It is defeat that turns bone to flint; it is defeat that turns gristle to muscle; it is defeat that makes men invincible. Do not then be afraid of defeat. You are never so near to victory as when defeated in a good cause.

Whatever is almost true is quite false, and among the most dangerous of errors, because being so near truth, it is more likely to lead astray.

When a man says that he is perfect already, there is only one of two places for him, and that is heaven or the lunatic asylum.

Love is the river of life in this world.

It is for men to choose whether they will govern themselves or be governed.

Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.

Pushing any truth out very far, you are met by a counter-truth.

Adversity, if for no other reason, is of benefit, since it is sure to bring a season of sober reflection. People see clearer at such times. Storms purify the atmosphere.

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.

Some men are like pyramids, which are very broad where they touch the ground, but grow narrow as they reach the sky.

Life would be a perpetual flea hunt if a man were obliged to run down all the innuendoes, inveracities, and insinuations and misrepresentations which are uttered against him.

Blessed are they who know how to shine on one’s gloom with their cheer.

Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.

Sorrows, as storms, bring down the clouds close to the earth; sorrows bring heaven down close; and they are instruments of cleansing and purifying.

If you are idle, you are on the road to ruin; and there are few stopping-places upon it. It is rather a precipice than a road

There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child.

Arts can save children, no matter what’s going on in their homes.

I know that my son was an honest person and an honest artist, and what he gave from himself through his art was the depth of his humanity.

Philosophy, art, and science are not the mental objects of an objectified brain but the three aspects under which the brain becomes subject.

Teaching is an art and a profession requiring years of training.

Art for me…is a negation of society, an affirmation of the individual, outside of all the rules and all the demands of society.

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.

It is my art. I am better at it than I ever was. And I will do it as long as I can. When you reach a certain age you can slough off what is unnecessary and concentrate on what is. And why not?

Art is the funnel, as it were, through which spirit is poured into life.