“Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity himself, than straight forward and simple integrity in another.”

Pride is less ashamed of being ignorant, than of being instructed, and she looks too high to find that, which very often lies beneath her.

Our admiration of fine writing will always be in proportion to its real difficulty and its apparent ease.

Pedantry prides herself on being wrong by rules; while common sense is contented to be right without them.

He that is good will infallibly become better, and he that is bad will as certainly become worse; for vice, virtue, and time are three things that never stand still.

It is better to meet danger than to wait for it.

When you have nothing to say, say nothing; a weak defense strengthens your opponent, and silence is less injurious than a bad reply.

Words indeed are but the signs and counters of knowledge, and their currency should be strictly regulated by the capital which they represent.

A coxcomb begins by determining that his own profession is the first; and he finishes by deciding that he is the first of profession.

Revenge is fever in our own blood, to be cured only by letting the blood of another; but the remedy too often produces a relapse, which is remorse–a malady far more dreadful than the first disease, because it is incurable.

Attempts at reform, when they fail, strengthen despotism, as he that struggles tightens those cords he does not succeed in breaking.

Men of great and shining qualities do not always succeed in life, but the fault lies more often in themselves than in others.

There is nothing more imprudent than excessive prudence.

Doubt is the vestibule through which all must pass before they can enter into the temple of wisdom.

God will excuse our prayers for ourselves whenever we are prevented from them by being occupied in such good works as to entitle us to the prayers of others.

There are two principles of established acceptance in morals; first, that self-interest is the mainspring of all of our actions, and secondly, that utility is the test of their value.

Times of great calamity and confusion have been productive for the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace. The brightest thunder-bolt is elicited from the darkest storm.

After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job.

Criticism does not make you smarter or better than the one you are criticizing. In fact, the stuff you are critical of in others is the same stuff you don’t like about yourself.

You like the way I dress The way I wear my hair Show me off to all your friends Baby, I don’t care Just as long as you tell them who I am Tell them I’m the one that made you give a damn.

Mommy. It’s just the one thing you don’t want to mess up.

The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.

One of my delays was in speech and speech pronunciation, and also the auditory processing issue just means I really struggle as an auditory learner.

All it takes is one drink to mess with the way you drive – it clouds your judgment and slows your reflexes. Don’t take any chances. It just isn’t worth it.

The world’s one and only remedy is the cross.