“A man is never as big as when he is on his knees to help a child.”

You should make great things, not promising great things.

A blow from your friend is better than a kiss from your enemy.

Strength of mind rests in sobriety; for this keeps your reason unclouded by passion.

If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.

As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom.

If you have a wounded heart, touch it as little as you would an injured eye. There are only two remedies for the suffering of the soul: hope and patience.

Do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in few!

The oldest, shortest words – ‘yes’ and ‘no’ – are those which require the most thought.

There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.

Don’t try to cover your mistakes with false words. Rather, correct your mistakes with examination.

Learn silence. With the quiet serenity of a meditative mind, listen, absorb, transcribe, and transform.

Power is the near neighbour of necessity.

The wise man should be prepared for everything that does not lie within his control.

Souls never die, but always on quitting one abode pass to another. All things change, nothing perishes.

If you’re asked: What is the silence? Respond: It is the first stone of the Wisdom’s temple.

Anger begins in folly, and ends in repentance.