Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired but by controlling that desire.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.

Don't be concerned with other people's impressions of you. They are dazzled and deluded by appearances. Stick with your purpose. This alone will strengthen your will and give your life coherence.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.

I have to die. If it is now, well then I die now; if later, then now I will take my lunch, since the hour for lunch has arrived - and dying I will tend to later.

From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do -- now.

Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.

Don't explain your philosophy. Embody it.

If someone speaks badly of you, do not defend yourself against the accusations, but reply; "you obviously don't know about my other vices, otherwise you would have mentioned these as well

That’s what you people do, isn’t it? Make assumptions and sell them to impressionable idiots.

As I turned to leave the tent, she said, "Don't worry. Your own mother wouldn't know you."I said, "She never has.

You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Pigeon.”“Just remember that when I take all of your money in the next poker game, ” I said, pulling off my shirt.

Money is the poor people's credit card.

Perhaps here we have a clue to the reason why royal rule used to exist formerly, namely the difficulty of finding enough men of outstanding virtue.

honesty dies in selling itself.

My father leaving the family shaped who I was and how I looked at the world. By the same token, my father telling me fairy tales that he had made up shaped me profoundly, too.

Every good movement passes through five stages, indifference, ridicule, abuse, repression, and respect.