“Nothing shows a man’s character more than what he laughs at.”

We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.

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.

The greatest evil that can befall man is that he should come to think ill of himself.

Every day one should at least hear one little song, read one good poem, see one fine painting and – if at all possible – speak a few sensible words.

If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul.

We often feel that we lack something, and seem to see that very quality in someone else, promptly attributing all our own qualities to him too, and a kind of ideal contentment as well. And so the happy mortal is a model of complete perfection–which we have ourselves created.

What is uttered from the heart alone will win the heart of others to your own.

We usually lost today because there has been a yesterday, and tomorrow is coming.

The limits of my language are the limits of my universe.

The heights charm us, but the steps do not; with the mountain in our view we love to walk the plains.

I treat my heart like a sick child and gratify its every fancy.

I wait for the morning of my tears.

I have so much in me, and the feeling for her absorbs it all; I have so much, and without her it all comes to nothing.

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.

Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.

He no longer acts from self but does what is right – what is universally and eternally right.

He is poor who is dissatisfied; he is rich who is contented with what he has, and he is richer who is generous with what he has.

When I was younger, the pressure was just being cool. I never thought of myself as a cool guy. I always thought of myself as more of the goofy guy.

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

The better ambitions have to do with the development of character and ability, rather than status and power. The status you can lose. You carry character with you wherever you go, and it allows you to prevail against adversity.

The truly self-possessed, however, are free from the whims of fate and chance. Calmly, they affect their will, and with strength of character and purity of intention, they attract to their person solely positive outcomes.

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.

Mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance.