“Persevere in virtue and diligence.”

Events of great consequence often spring from trifling circumstances.

War is just to those to whom war is necessary.

War is just to those for whom it is necessary, and arms are clear of impiety for those who have no hope left but in arms.

He will have true glory who despises it.

All things will be clear and distinct to the man who does not hurry; haste is blind and improvident.

There is nothing worse than being ashamed of parsimony or poverty.

Wit is the flower of the imagination.

Those ills are easiest to bear with which we are most familiar.

Friendships ought to be immortal, hostilities mortal.

Avarice and luxury, those evils which have been the ruin of every great state.

Necessity is the last and strongest weapon.

Temerity is not always successful.

Luck is of little moment to the great general, for it is under the control of his intellect and his judgment.

Great contests generally excite great animosities.

Better and safer is an assured peace than a victory hoped for. The one is in your own power, the other is in the hands of the gods.

No law is sufficiently convenient to all.

We each need to make our lion’s roar – to persevere with unshakable courage when faced with all manner of doubts and sorrows and fears – to declare our right to awaken.

It is a human thing to sin, but perseverance in sin is a thing of the devil.

We fear discovering that we are more than we think we are… That we actually have the guts, the perserverance, the capacity… because, if it’s true, then we become estranged from all we know.

Perseverance, grit, and willpower are essential to success, but the way to improve these qualities is not by wishing you were a more disciplined person, but by creating a more disciplined environment.

If you want a quality, act as if you already have it. If you want to be courageous, act as if you were – and as you act and persevere in acting, so you tend to become.

Great leadership is not attained by pursuing greatness but by persevering through great tests.

Perverseness is your whole defence.

I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.