It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell: so is it likely that the good of a man should?

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

Hate springs from fear. Violence is released hatred. Behind every hateful crime and act of human brutality is an admission of fearfulness.

I travel because I become uncomfortable being too comfortable.

Peace is the first thing the angels sang.

Creativity is thinking big.

When we dream, we create. All of life is a dream or a series of waking dreams. We dream our surroundings. We dream our friends, our relations. We dream our bodies. We dream our dreams.

Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic far beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!

I come from Bridgeport, Connecticut and have friends I grew up with there.

Decades later I would look into my father's eyes and try to reach past the murkiness of Alzheimer's with my words, my apology, hoping that in his heart he heard me and understood.

I resolve never to make any resolutions because all resolutions are restrictions for the future. All resolutions are imprisonments.

Fishing should be a ceremony that reaffirms our place in the natural world and helps us resist further estrangement from our origins.