To criticize is to appreciate, to appropriate, to take intellectual possession, to establish in fine a relation with the criticized thing and to make it one's own.

Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.

It's time to start living the life you've imagined.

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.

We work in the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.

Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.

Everything about Florence seems to be colored with a mild violet, like diluted wine.

Excellence does not require perfection.

The Roman jurisprudence has the longest known history of any set of human institutions.

I'm yours for ever--for ever and ever. Here I stand; I'm as firm as a rock. If you'll only trust me, how little you'll be disappointed. Be mine as I am yours.

It's a complex fate, being an American, and one of the responsibilities it entails is fighting against a superstitious valuation of Europe.

It is more important that we listen to others than to always be speaking, for in that way we learn what there is to know. We should be easy to talk to, and grateful for new information.

My incentive? Making a peaceful spirit second nature. And that is so worth the effort.

Consistent relevancy is to improve and advance more in understanding

Men freely believe that which they desire.

When you decide clearly and definitely what you want, then no sacrifice is too great as you put all of your powers into astounding results.

Heaven often seems distant and unknown, but if He who made the road... is our guide, we need not fear to lose the way.

Eyesight should learn from reason.

They're the second best team in the world, and there's no higher praise than that.

Forgetting your mission leads, inevitably, to getting tangled up in details-details that can take you completely off your path.

People like Bill Maher, who brags about being a cynic, it sickens me. I am the least cynical person I know, and I am very, very skeptical.