“O my soul, do not aspire to immortal life, but exhaust the limits of the possible.”

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.

Though God alone never tastes woe, Yet that man is happy, and poets sing of him, Who conquers with hand or swift foot And wins the greatest of prizes By steadfastness and strength.