An Englishman thinks he is moral when he is only uncomfortable.

As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can.

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

I have a hard time figuring out what kind of box to put me in, too, because I don’t know exactly what’s going on around me or why. But I need to stay outside of boxes because then I can look at what’s inside of them without being part of them.

Egotism is the source and summary of all faults and miseries.

They consider me to have sharp and penetrating vision because I see them through the mesh of a sieve.

Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his grief. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite to the sun; short at noon, long at eve. Did you never see it?

What a waste it is to lose one’s mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.

The safest course is to do nothing against one’s conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death.

A true artist is expected to be all that is noble-minded, and this is not altogether a mistake; on the other hand, however, in what a mean way are critics allowed to pounce upon us.

A man’s own judgment should be the final appeal in all that relates to himself.

I will not be concerned at other men’s not knowing me; I will be concerned at my own want of ability.

Trust not yourself, but your defects to know, make use of every friend and every foe.

My thought is me: that is why I cannot stop thinking. I exist because I think I cannot keep from thinking.

If all my bridge coach ever told me was that I was ‚satisfactory,‘ I would have no hope of ever getting better. How would I know who was the best? How would I know what I was doing differently?

Genius… means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.

My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.

It seems that when you have cancer you are a brave battler against the disease, but when you have Alzheimer’s you are an old fart. That’s how people see you. It makes you feel quite alone.

I do suffer from depression, I suppose. Which isn’t that unusual. You know, a lot of people do.

You are the universe, you aren’t in the universe.

One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.

Every spoken word arouses our self-will.

It is better to die than to preserve this life by incurring disgrace. The loss of life causes but a moment’s grief, but disgrace brings grief every day of one’s life.

Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.

You are a little soul carrying around a corpse.

Juvenile crime is not naturally born in the boy, but is largely due either to the spirit of adventure that is in him, to his own stupidity, or to his lack of discipline, according to the nature of the individual.

Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.

I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity.

No sane man will dance.

It is in self-limitation that a master first shows himself.

The fact is, I was never too bright in school. I ain’t ashamed of it, though. I mean, how much do school principals make a month?

People like to build their own story about my life. I don’t know if it makes them feel better, or if it makes it okay for them to not like me, but the last thing I grew up as was rich.

Plain women know more about men than beautiful women do.

I’m mischievous, but I’m calculated.

Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.

To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.

To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.

I think for my bones and my size, I better stay with my 60 kilo.

Every man supposes himself not to be fully understood or appreciated.

A moral monopoly is the antithesis of a marketplace of ideas.

Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.

I’m tired of fighting. I’ve always known that I can’t be an action star all my life.

I’m stupid, I’m ugly, I’m dumb, I smell. Did I mention I’m stupid?

I’ve found men are less likely to let petty things annoy them.

When people meet me, they say that I’m really kind – contrary to a lot of my music.

Who is richer? The man who is seen, but cannot see? Or the man who is not being seen, but can see?

In the last analysis, even the best man is evil: in the last analysis, even the best woman is bad.

He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.

Somebody’s boring me. I think it’s me.

All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is.

I’m just going to say it: I’m pro-guilt. Guilt is good. Guilt helps us stay on track because it’s about our behavior. It occurs when we compare something we’ve done – or failed to do – with our personal values.

‚Tis strange what a man may do, and a woman yet think him an angel.

There are women who can make you feel more with their bodies and their souls, but these are the exact women who will turn the knife into you right in front of the crowd. Of course, I expect this, but the knife still cuts.

Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.

I was brought up to try to see what was wrong and right it. Since I am a writer, writing is how I right it.

Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more a man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

If man makes himself a worm he must not complain when he is trodden on.

To know anything well involves a profound sensation of ignorance.

Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes.

I’m trying to keep a level head. You have to be careful out in the world. It’s so easy to get turned.