Quotes to inspire and reflect

In the modern world the intelligence of public opinion is the one indispensable condition for social progress. Charles W.

War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it.

To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation.

Conversation is an art in which a man has all mankind for his competitors, for it is that which all are practicing every day while they live.

In the arena of human life, the honors and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities.

We rarely confide in those who are better than we are.

In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.

You cram these words into mine ears against the stomach of my sense.

Ignorance never settles a question.

Equality...is the result of human organization. We are not born equal.

Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience.

Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forgo an advantage.

Enjoy things which are pleasant; that is not the evil: it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that is.

Laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.

Law is the embodiment of the moral sentiment of the people.

The wise determine from the gravity of the case; the irritable, from sensibility to oppression; the high minded, from disdain and indignation at abusive power in unworthy hands.

Faith must have adequate evidence; else it is mere superstition.

He is winding the watch of his wit; by and by it will strike.

Whatever we conceive well we express clearly, and words flow with ease.

The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.

If men would consider not so much wherein they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of charitableness and angry feeling.

In men of the highest character and noblest genius there is to be found an insatiable desire for honor, command, power, and glory.

Learn to labor and to wait.

While thou live keep a good tongue in thy head.

The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can ever end.

O tyrant love, to what do you not drive the hearts of men.

What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities.

Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.

He removes the greatest ornament of friendship, who takes away from it respect.

The wise man carries his possessions within him.

The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done.

A multitude of words is no proof of a prudent mind.

The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to get leisure.

It is knowledge that influences and equalizes the social condition of man; that gives to all, however different their political position, passions which are in common, and enjoyments which are universal.

Innocence dwells with Wisdom, but never with Ignorance.

I detest that man who hides one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks for another.

What does reason demand of a man? A very easy thing--to live in accord with his nature.

Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool.

Where reason fails, time oft has worked a cure.

We most often go astray on a well-trodden and much frequented road.

Unjust dominion cannot be eternal.

To be always fortunate, and to pass through life with a soul that has never known sorrow, is to be ignorant of one half of nature.

The path of precept is long, that of example short and effectual.

The most onerous slavery is to be a slave to oneself.

The mind is slow to unlearn what it learnt early.

The arts are the servant; wisdom its master.

The first step towards amendment is the recognition of error.