“Truth reduces the terrible complexity of a man to the simplicity of his word.”

Stop saying those things that make you weak and ashamed. Say only those things that make you strong. Do only those things that you could speak of with honor.

Territory matters, and there is little difference between territorial rights and social status. It is often a matter of life and death.

If you cannot understand why someone did something, look at the consequences – and infer the motivation.

You must determine where you are going in your life, because you cannot get there unless you move in that direction.

Order is not enough. You can’t just be stable, and secure, and unchanging, because there are still vital and important new things to be learned.

I’m not hurt. I’m appalled.

It’s the chattering buzz of ideologically possessed demons.

Beauty shames the ugly. Strength shames the weak. Death shames the living – and the Ideal shames us all.

I don’t think that you have any insight whatsoever into your capacity for good until you have some well-developed insight into your capacity for evil.

Experience is the best teacher, and the worst experiences teach the best lessons.

The successful among us delay gratification. The successful among us bargain with the future.

You deserve some respect. You are important to other people, as much as to yourself. You have some vital role to play in the unfolding destiny of the world.

It’s a luxury to pursue what makes you happy; it’s a moral obligation to pursue what you find meaningful.

You should not overlook the guidelines of your culture. Life is short, and you don’t have time to figure everything out on your own. The wisdom of the past was hard-earned, and your dead ancestors may have something useful to tell you.

Nietzsche said that a man’s worth was determined by how much truth he could tolerate.

The secret to your existence is right in front of you. It manifests itself as all those things you know you should do but are avoiding.

We must remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school.

The gentlest man cannot live in peace if it does not please his wicked neighbor.

Man is not made better by being degraded.

A man usually values that most for which he has labored; he uses that most frugally which he has toiled hour by hour and day by day to acquire.

The history of every individual man should be a Bible.

Men keep their engagements when it is an advantage to both parties not to break them.

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

Remember that this greatness was won by men with courage, with knowledge of their duty, and with a sense of honor in action.