The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity.

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.

The secret of success is constancy of purpose.

Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them.

Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.

Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.

Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.

Never complain and never explain.

Finality is not the language of politics.

When possession of wealth or splendors brings happiness- it is an illusion, when attainment of certain mental state brings happiness- it is a real possession.

If its danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

It's strange how a word, a phrase, a sentence, can feel like a blow to the head.

Being me is no different than being most anyone else, I guess.

I write my own songs, and I only see their flaws.

It seems stupid when people limit themselves to one kind of music. It tells me they're not using their ears.

'Tis a strange thing, Sam, that among us people can't agree the whole week, because they go different ways upon Sundays.

For every individual who really is exceptional there are about fifty thousand who just imagine they are - until it's too late, and they find out they aren't after all.

Job dissatisfaction is the number one factor in whether you survive your first heart attack.

The soul cannot be humbled by fasts and prayer; it must be broken by mortal sin to experience forgiveness of sin and rise to a state of grace. Otherwise, religion is nothing but dead logic.