It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended but the glory belongs to our ancestors.

I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.

When Demosthenes was asked what was the first part of Oratory, he answered, "Action," and which was the second, he replied, "action," and which was the third, he still answered "Action.

Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly.

The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.

Barba non facit philosophum

To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.

Time is the wisest of all counselors.

No beast is more savage than man when possessed with power answerable to his rage.

Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure.

Baseball in the Navy always was much more fun than it had been in the major leagues.

Books do actually consume air and exhale perfumes.

The work in Iraq is difficult and it is dangerous. Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real.

On stage I make love to twenty five thousand people; and then I go home alone.

I don't have to listen to anything you have to say.

The velocity and volume on the Web are so great that nothing is forgotten and nothing is remembered.

All paintings start out of a mood, out of a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression

A self-respecting nation is ready for anything, including war, except for a renunciation of its option to make war.

I have realized that part of being Dauntless is being willing to make things more difficult for yourself in order to be self-sufficient.