“The test of any man lies in action.”

One race there is of men, one of gods, but from one mother we both draw our breath.

The noblest of the elements is water.

Whatever is beautiful is beautiful by necessity.

Great deeds give choice of many tales. Choose a slight tale, enrich it large, and then let wise men listen.

When men succeed, even their neighbors think them wise.

Skills vary with the man. We must tread a straight path and strive by that which is born in us.

Men are the dreams of a shadow.

The days that are still to come are the wisest witnesses.

Even wisdom has to yield to self-interest.

I will be small in small things, great among great.

Not every truth is the better for showing its face undisguised; and often silence is the wisest thing for a man to heed.

Convention is the ruler of all.

Natural ability is by far the best, but many men have succeeded in winning high renown by skill that is the fruit of teaching.

Mankind is a dream of a shadow.

Success for the striven washes away the effort of striving.

The present will not long endure.

I’ve come to understand that the best one can hope for as a human is to have a relationship with that emptiness where God would be if God were available, but God isn’t.

You know what you want to do, then you balance it against paying the rent.

I was raised in a spirit of the importance of service to your fellow man.

The future belongs to you. Should anyone insult you, tell yourself this:

I am kind of a curmudgeonly person, so I don’t gravitate to groups or traditions, which is probably just pretentious of me.

I love new cities, and if I haven’t travelled for a month, the need to go somewhere starts to gets under my skin.

We had to, as children, adapt to various situations with either a military family or things like that.

Patience and time do more than strength or passion.