To retire to the monastery, or the woods, or the sea, is to escape from the sharp suggestions that spur on ambition.

There is no way to penetrate the surface of life but by attacking it earnestly at a particular point.

A strange and somewhat impassive physiognomy is often, perhaps, an advantage to an orator, or leader of any sort, because it helps to fix the eye and fascinate the mind.

One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.

Failure sometimes enlarges the spirit. You have to fall back upon humanity and God.

An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.

The imaginations which people have of one another are the solid facts of society.

As social beings we live with our eyes upon our reflection, but have no assurance of the tranquillity of the waters in which we see it.

To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change.

Form the habit of making decisions when your spirit is fresh...to let dark moods lead is like choosing cowards to command armies.

Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some degeneracy, attributable to the same causes as the freedom.

The use of force is always an answer to problems...[It] isn't an attractive answer, though.

Every new truth begins in a shocking heresy.

We can produce imagery to share the beauty of the oceans and what is there to protect. We can also expose the truths about overharvest, climate change, and habitat loss to give oceans a voice.

A few years ago, I bought an old red bicycle with the words Free Spirit written across its side - which is exactly what I felt like when I rode it down the street in a tie-dyed dress.

Nothing like the act of eating for equalizing men. Dying is nothing to it.

Spiritual meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is a mystic ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to Truth, from pain to peace.

Fanatics have their dreams, wherewith they weave a paradise for a sect.

I think I hate snow, downright hate it. There is something stupefying in it, a kind of 'You must be worse before you're better,' and down it spins.

Intellectualism, though by no means confined to doubters, is often the sole piety of the skeptic.

A positive attitude and personal motivation allow you to remain excited about what you are doing - no matter how difficult the challenges may be day to day.