If I had not smoked I should have been dead ten years ago.

The world belongs to optimists; the pessimists are only spectators.

Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge, and the heart for truth.

Do not be afraid of enthusiasm. You need it. You can do nothing effectively without it.

The spirit of revolution, the spirit of insurrection, is a spirit radically opposed to liberty

It is only after an unknown number of unrecorded labors, after a host of noble hearts have succumbed in discouragement, convinced that their cause is lost; it is only then that cause triumphs.

Common sense is the genius of mankind.

The effect of great and inevitable misfortune is to elevate those souls which it does not deprive of all virtue.

Nothing falsifies history more than logic.

He began to develop an obstinate patience.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

Ask an older person you respect to tell you his or her greatest regret.

Painters are amongst the priests - worker priests of the cult of man - searching to understand but never know.

I always wanted to make movies.

Keep right on lying to me. That's what I want you to do.

The awesome thing about failure is that it is only temporary. Embrace it, learn the lesson and come back blazing.

Performers have the right to say what they want to, and anyone paying money has the right to accept or reject the art and entertainment that's available.

Without God, democracy cannot and will not long endure.