“Forge thy tongue on an anvil of truth and what flies up, though it be but a spark, will have light.”

Even success softens not the heart of the envious.

The forehead of every work must shine from afar.

To each thing belongs it’s measure. Occasion is best to know.

Water is best, but gold shines like fire blazing in the night, supreme of lordly wealth.

Of the good things given between man and man, I say that a neighbor, true and loving in heart, to neighbor is a joy beyond all things else.

If any man thinks to swindle God, he is wrong.

Success abides longer among men when it is planted by the hand of God.

Rich man and poor move side by side toward the limit of death.

Various are the uses of friends, beyond all else in difficulty, but joy also looks for trust that is clear in the eyes.

My God grant me love for that which has splendor, but in this time of my life let me strive for attainable things.

Point thy tongue on the anvil of truth.

A graceful and honorable old age is the childhood of immortality.

Water is the best of all things.

May God grant me love for that which has splendor; but in this time of my life let me strive for attainable things.

Many a time the thing left silent makes for happiness.

Even now I am full of hope, but the end lies in God.

Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.

This is precisely different from the childish but common religious notion that even when you are alone there is always Someone Else present

Yelling and screaming won’t really get what I want from my kids.

Wise people build their lives around what is eternal and squeeze in what is temporary. Not the other way around.

I have to be a calmer person, because my anger can look pretty terrifying to a young person.

The worst reaction someone can have is, “eh.”

Security wins many battles but loses the security war.

Sometimes I feel that every word spoken and every gesture made merely serve to exacerbate misunderstandings. Then what I would really like is to escape into a great silence and impose that silence on everyone else.