Even the best-natured people, if uninstructed, are always blind and uncertain. We must take pains to instruct ourselves so that ignorance makes us neither too timid nor too bold.

Pettiness of mind, ignorance and presumption are the cause of stubbornness, because stubborn people only want to believe what they themselves can imagine, and they can imagine very few things.

To be too dissatisfied with ourselves is a weakness. To be too satisfied with ourselves is a stupidity.

It is a singular characteristic of love that we cannot hide it where it exists, or pretend it where it does not exist.

We prefer people who are trying to imitate us more than those who are trying to equal us. This is because imitation is a sign of esteem, but the desire to equal others is a sign of envy.

Honest and sincere acts mislead the wicked and cause them to lose their path to their own goals, because mean-spirited people usually believe that people never act without deceit.

It is vain and useless to survey everything that goes on in the world if our study does not help us mend our ways.

Sometimes we praise the way things used to be in order to blame the present, and we esteem what is no longer in order to scorn what is.

Mean-spirited mediocrities, especially those with a smattering of learning, are the most likely to be opinionated. Only strong minds know how to correct their opinions and abandon a bad position.

Criticism should awaken our attention, not inflame our anger. We should listen to, and not flee from, those who contradict us. Truth should be our cause, no matter in what manner it comes to us.

We think highly of men when we do not know the extent of their capabilities, for we always suppose that more exists when we only see half.

When people try to bury you, remind yourself you are a seed.

Leaders with high esteem are high performers.

Only when you see the flower for what it is, you can see it's true beauty

My father told me, never have partners.

With age, you get to a place where you don't want to knock people out. You just want to give people a hug.

I always found that kind of hard, and even though Gene Kelly was also a taskmaster, Bobby [Fosse] was tougher.

Songwriting is never one thing. I've spent as long as three months writing a song. Other times I've done it in twenty minutes.

I hate liberality - nine times out of ten it is cowardice, and the tenth time lack of principle.

I think what people are attracted to about me, if anything, is my passion. People got exposed to my passion through music and song first.

John Kerry's service did not end in Vietnam. It began there.