“Our disputants put me in mind of the cuttlefish that, when he is unable to extricate himself, blackens the water about him till he becomes invisible.”

He who would pass his declining years with honor and comfort, should, when young, consider that he may one day become old, and remember when he is old, that he has once been young.

Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body. As by the one, health is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated: by the other, virtue (which is the health of the mind) is kept alive, cherished, and confirmed.

Mankind are more indebted to industry than ingenuity; the gods set up their favors at a price, and industry is the purchaser.

There is not a more unhappy being than a superannuated idol.

There are infinite reveries, numberless extravagances, and a perpetual train of vanities which pass through both.

That aids and strengthens virtue where it meets her And imitates her actions where she is not: It is not to be sported with.

Honour’s a sacred tie, the law of kings, The noble mind’s distinguishing perfection

Honor’s a fine imaginary notion, that draws in raw and unexperienced men to real mischiefs.

Our delight in any particular study, art, or science rises and improves in proportion to the application which we bestow upon it. Thus, what was at first an exercise becomes at length an entertainment.

This not in mortals to command success, but we’ll do more, Sempronius, we’ll deserve it.

One of the most important but one of the most difficult things for a powerful mind is to be its own master.

In private conversation between intimate friends, the wisest men very often talk like the weakest : for indeed the talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud.

Music, the greatest good that mortals know and all of heaven we have hear below.

Silence is sometimes more significant and sublime than the most noble and most expressive eloquence, and is on many occasions the indication of a great mind.

True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

A faith that for modern man is becoming the only possible faith.

It has become a certainty now that if you will only advertise sufficiently you may make a fortune by selling anything.

One does not become fully human painlessly.

The mature person becomes able to differentiate feelings into as many nuances, strong and passionate experiences, or delicate and sensitive ones, as in the different passages of music in a symphony. Unfortunately, many of us have feelings limited like notes in a bugle call.

N.Y. hip-hop is ok, but we gotta become brave again; we have to be brave enough and do something new – that’s what New York is about… New.

Becoming “awake” involves seeing our confusion more clearly.

To give a name to a thing is as gratifying as giving a name to an island, but it is also dangerous: the danger consists in one’s becoming convinced that all is taken care of and that once named, the phenomenon has also been explained.

Fashion is defined by what later becomes out of fashion.