“Concerning the first, there is a saying much usurped of late, That Wisedome is acquired, not by reading of Books, but of Men.”

The understanding is by the flame of the passions never enlightened, but dazzled.

Look not at the greatness of the evil past, but the greatness of the good to follow.

Men are moved by appetites and aversions.

True’ and ‘false’ are attributes of speech, not of things. And where speech is not, there is neither ‘truth’ nor ‘falsehood.

Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal.

I often observe the absurdity of dreams, but never dream of the absurdity of my waking thoughts.

Leisure is the mother of Philosophy.

If men are naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry arms and why do they have keys to lock their doors?

In the very shadows of doubt a thread of reason (so to speak) begins, by whose guidance we shall escape to the clearest light.

The light of humane minds is perspicuous words, but by exact definitions first snuffed, and purged from ambiguity, reason is the pace.

The Power of a Man is his present means, to obtain some future apparent Good.

The condition of man . . . is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.

As a draft-animal is yoked in a wagon, even so the spirit is yoked in this body.

Fear of things invisible is the natural seed of that which every one in himself calleth religion.

Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.

Power simply is no more, but the excess of the power of one above that of another.

A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.

God has, in fact, written two books, not just one. Of course, we are all familiar with the first book he wrote, namely Scripture. But he has written a second book called creation.

A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.

If I read as many books as most men do, I would be as dull-witted as they are.

Bad books engender bad habits, but bad habits engender good books.

We don’t truly know anyone or everything if we did, we wouldn’t need books.

The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.

Beware the man of a single book.