The mischief of children is seldom actuated by malice; that of grown-up people always is.

The most civilized people are as near to barbarism as the most polished steel is to rust. Nations, like metals, have only a superficial brilliancy.

Man spends his life in reasoning on the past, in complaining of the present, in fearing future.

It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit.

Of every ten persons who talk about you, nine will say something bad, and the tenth will say something good in a bad way.

The absolute ruler may be a Nero, but he is sometimes a Titus or Marc Aurelius; the people is often Nero, but never Marc Aurelius.

To lose one's self in reverie, one must be either very happy, or very unhappy. Reverie is the child of extremes.

Gold like the sun, which melts wax, but hardens clay, expands great souls.

The only thing wealth does for some people is to make them worry about losing it.

The modest man has everything to gain, and the arrogant man everything to lose; for modesty has always to deal with generosity, and arrogance with envy.

Opinions, theories, and systems pass by turns over the grindstone of time, which at first gives them brilliancy and sharpness, but finally wears them out.

Don't let a little fear stop you from getting what you want

With all her finesse for cleaning, Snag sometimes felt that her biggest contribution to mankind was making a mess of things.

I'm not a guy who needs to drink coffee or anything to get myself going in the morning. I wake up, and I'm full of energy.

Dead, hung up indoors, the kingfisher will not indicate a favoring wind, or avert the thunderbolt.

When I'm playing a part, I can feel all my body playing it; it's like really making love.

The world is full of bright men who know all the right things to say and who say them in the wrong place.

Often in television, you read a script and you're amazed that you get the scene given to you.

I never really called myself pro-choice.

For Zen students, a weed is a treasure.

The scary truth is 96 percent of mutual funds fail to match the market, and the 4 percent that do, they're always changing.