“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

The happy life is regarded as a life in conformity with virtue.

He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.

Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.

He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.

The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes.

He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.

It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.

Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved.

He is his own best friend and takes delight in privacy whereas the man of no virtue or ability is his own worst enemy and is afraid of solitude.

The best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake.

The gods too are fond of a joke.

A friend is a second self.

Wit is educated insolence.

Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.

The secret to humor is surprise.

Learning is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain.

If to be old is not to be wise, then it is simply to be obsolete.

I hunted all through the four Gospels trying to find one of Christ’s funeral sermons, but I couldn’t find any. I found He broke up every funeral He ever attended! Death couldn’t exist where He was.

We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist, one-third rich and two-thirds hungry.

Sex has become one of the most discussed subjects of modern times. The Victorians pretended it did not exist; the moderns pretend nothing else exists.

A thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.

I suppose it was easier to pretend I didn’t exist than it was to exorcise my demons.

I suspect that dreams are an integral part of existence, with far more use for us than we’ve made of them…The fine line between the dream state and reality is at times, for me, quite grey.

Everyone has a right to peaceful coexistence, the basic personal freedoms, the alleviation of suffering, and the opportunity to lead a productive life.