“Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though ’twere his own.”

A word spoken is a terrible thing when it suddenly utters what the heart has long allowed.

On top of the world, or in the depths of despair.

One can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days.

By seeking and blundering we learn.

He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth.

If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.

I laugh at my heart, and do its will.

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

All that is transitory is but a metaphor.

I love those who yearn for the impossible.

There are two things children should get from their parents: roots and wings.

Two souls, alas, are housed within my breast, and each will wrestle for the mastery there.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

We know accurately only when we know little; doubt grows with knowledge.

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.

In happy ignorance, I sighed for a world I did not know, where I hoped to find every pleasure and enjoyment which my heart could desire; and now, on my return from that wide world, how many disappointed hopes and unsuccessful plans have I brought back!

One always has to wait until the sugar melts, the memory dies, the wound scars over, the sun sets, the unhappiness lifts and fades away.

You know, all that really matters is that the people you love are happy and healthy. Everything else is just sprinkles on the sundae.

Happiness depends on your mindset and attitude.

If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.

A happy life consists in tranquility of mind.

Happy would it be for women, if they were only flattered by the men who loved them; I mean, who love the individual, not the sex.

Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.