The world is so full of ill-nature that I have lampoons sent me by people who cannot spell, and satires composed by those who scarce know how to write.

The greatest sweetener of human life is Friendship.

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.

If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.

Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week.

No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you.

The voice of reason is more to be regarded than the bent of any present inclination; since inclination will at length come over to reason, though we can never force reason to comply with inclination.

Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.

An observer can’t tell if a person is silent and still because inner life has stalled or because inner life is transfixingly busy.

We prefer to find an explanation for why things are not perfect, and these rarely stand up to close scrutiny.

We may get a paycheck, but over time what we sense is the dying of our souls.

I was just standing around and suddenly I was cast as an extra. I hated it because I was so shy.

I didn't want to think about a project that I couldn't finish. That's a kind of temptation. One has to realize one's limitations. Why kid yourself? 

Only now that I loved a grenade did I understand the foolishness of trying to save others from my own impending fragmentation: I couldn’t unlove Augustus Waters. And I didn’t want to.

Failure is what you may need to eventually succeed.

Going to law is losing a cow for the sake of a cat.

Fiction takes us to places that we would never otherwise go, and puts us behind eyes that are not our own.

We can't answer King's assassination with violence. That would be the worst tribute we could pay him.