An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie.

Illusion is the first of all pleasures.

The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured. They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry.

Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

An enemy generally says and believes what he wishes.

Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect.

We have art in order not to die of the truth.

Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.

I always try to be myself. Ever since I was an introverted kid, I’d get on stage and be able to break out of my shell.

The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.

And, after all, what is a lie? ‚Tis but the truth in a masquerade.

The advice that is wanted is commonly not welcome and that which is not wanted, evidently an effrontery.

Justice is truth in action.

God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.

The truth is: Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect.

There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

Falsehood is cowardice, the truth courage.

I try to not focus on what people expect from me.

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.

Platitudes? Yes, there are platitudes. Platitudes are there because they are true.

I don’t want people to think of me as sexy.

There is a rollicking kindness that looks like malice.

I’ve got nothing to hide.

A great social success is a pretty girl who plays her cards as carefully as if she were plain.

Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradictions are a sign of authenticity.

I just think you ought to talk straight with your people.

We think that the world is a solid, vivid place, full of shape and colour and solid objects like this table and this microphone and so on, but we actually create that in our heads out of the bits of information that hit the back of our eyeballs or hit our eardrums or hit our tongues or whatever.

‚Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems.

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way.

Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good.

Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.

Self-talk, for me, has been the biggest thing in my life. A lot of us have a dialogue that is crap. It’s a crappy dialogue. We live in a world right now that is very external. Everything is very on the surface. Superficial. Everything. And what we’re telling ourselves is what we see on TV.

Vanity is but the surface.

My definition of country music is really pretty simple. It’s when someone sings about their life and what they know, from an authentic place.

I think there is a lot made out of age, and what age you feel.

When I am writing, I do not distinguish between the natural and supernatural. Everything seems real. That is my world, you could say.

Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true.

I feel like when I try to fit in, it comes across as not genuine, and that is not good. I’d rather just do me and have people say, ‚Oh. That’s interesting,‘ than try to fit in.

Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.

The lie is a condition of life.

Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called ‚walking.‘

Don’t make me into this airy-fairy, moralist, idealist because I’m not.

The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there’s a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.

Knowledge is true opinion.

I try to see the good in everybody, and I don’t care who people are as long as they’re themselves, whatever that is.

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?

We live in an imperfect world, and imperfect people surround us every day.

I’ve always felt that if I examine myself too much, I’ll find out what I know and don’t know, and I’ll burst the bubble. I’ve gotten so lucky relying on my animal instincts, I’d rather keep a little bit of the animal alive.

Everything’s fine today, that is our illusion.

Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.

Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.

At Sarah Lawrence, I realized that everybody was already what they were going to be. The painters were painting, the writers writing, the dancers dancing. And nobody wore any makeup. The art was uppermost.

The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.

Every mind must make its choice between truth and repose. It cannot have both.

After many years of great mercy, after tasting of the powers of the world to come, we still are so weak, so foolish; but, oh! when we get away from self to God, there all is truth and purity and holiness, and our heart finds peace, wisdom, completeness, delight, joy, victory.

I wanted to only create a great perfume, not any perfume that would sell, but a great artistic one that the fans would not feel cheated by.