No man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.

A lily of a day Is fairer far in May, Although it fall and die that night, It was the plant and flower of light. In small proportions we just beauties see, And in short measures life may perfect be.

To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.

Honor's a good brooch to wear in a man's hat at all times.

The poet is the nearest borderer upon the orator.

The voice so sweet, the words so fair, As some soft chime had stroked the air; And though the sound had parted thence, Still left an echo in the sense.

True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in the worth and choice.

A good man will avoid the spot of any sin. The very aspersion is grievous, which makes him choose his way in his life, as he would in his journey.

There is no greater hell than to be a prisoner of fear.

Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not look for wine.

Success produces confidence; confidence relaxes industry, and negligence ruins the reputation which accuracy had raised.

One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.

If you have not taken the time to define what happiness means to you, what have your spent your whole life pursuing?

There is nothing truly serious in life. All words sound hollow when one listens to them carefully.

There are a couple of ideas for features that I would love to do. They happen to be comedies.

The story [of the Sacrifice of Isaac ] is much more a part of theology than of history.

Two aged men, that had been foes for life, Met by a grave, and wept - and in those tears They washed away the memory of their strife; Then wept again the loss of all those years.

I know a man who, when he saw a woman of striking beauty, praised the Creator for her. The sight of her lit within him the love of God.

What I want any genre to do, what I want any work of art to do, is to illuminate the human condition.

I was fascinated by The Lord of the Rings from about the age of eight and that lasted well into my teens.

A Zen master used to say, It is clear and so it is hard to see. A dunce once searched for a fire with a lighted lantern. Had he known what fire was, he could have cooked his rice much sooner.