Do not despise the bottom rungs in the ascent to greatness.

From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.

Pardon one offence, and you encourage the commission of many.

One ungrateful person does an injury to all needy people.

Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage.

Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself.

Tears gratify a savage nature, they do not melt it.

How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.

It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are.

A tongue prone to slander is the proof of a depraved mind.

Never promise more than you can perform.

Behold, behold.

It is curious how an age of public self-revelation, and of the use of psychological jargon, should also be an age when self-examination is rarely practised.

Sausage making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up.

If you feed the poor, you're a saint. If you ask why they're poor, you're a Communist.

[My mother] would have me smothered like the Princes in the Tower if I showed any inclination for being an artist. She thought all artists little better than lunatics.

The cat is domestic only as far as suits its own ends.

It was something every child knew how to do, maintain a direct and full connection with the world. Somehow you forgot about it as you grew up, and had to learn it again.

Many very strong fathers have turned out ineffectual sons by not allowing them to grow as men.

Writing is only a guided dream.

Geniuses never pay attention.