Man is his own worst enemy. [Lat., Nihil inimicius quam sibi ipse.]

Politicians are not born; they are excreted.

Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.

It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own.

Read at every wait; read at all hours; read within leisure; read in times of labor; read as one goes in; read as one goest out. The task of the educated mind is simply put: read to lead.

We learn nothing from history except that we learn nothing from history.

It is not enough to acquire wisdom, it is necessary to employ it.

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.

Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them.

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.

A lot of things look cooler in slow motion. Eating isn't one of them.

I have said my philosophy - I'm a backyard philosopher, I guess - is that the dirtiest word in the English language is "retirement."

As a mountain is unshaken by the wind, so the heart of a wise person is unmoved by all the changes on this earth.

Forgiveness is a sacrifice. You're giving up being right about something, whether you're right or wrong about it.

The media often glamorizes successful founders and makes their paths seem easier than they actually were.

If children are allowed free development and given occupation to correspond with their unfolding minds their natural goodness will shine forth.

There is one and only one possible road to joy: selfless love.

When you're expecting bad news you have to be prepared for it a long time ahead so that when the telegram comes you can already pronounce the syllables in your mouth before opening it.