His priority did not seem to be to teach them what he knew, but rather to impress upon them that nothing, not even… knowledge, was foolproof.

As long as you live, keep learning how to live.

The words of truth are always paradoxical.

I haven’t gone out of my way to seek advice from people I don’t know.

In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, Like People like Government.

There is nothing which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.

To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it.

Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.

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

To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.

The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.

Experience which was once claimed by the aged is now claimed exclusively by the young.

I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.

All the learnin‘ my father paid for was a bit o‘ birch at one end and an alphabet at the other.

I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.

I don’t know what’s the matter with people: they don’t learn by understanding; they learn by some other way – by rote, or something. Their knowledge is so fragile!

He who does not trust enough, Will not be trusted.

Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been.

Much learning does not teach understanding.

It is paradoxical, yet true, to say, that the more we know, the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense, for it is only through enlightenment that we become conscious of our limitations. Precisely one of the most gratifying results of intellectual evolution is the continuous opening up of new and greater prospects.

Things do not always happen the way I would like them to happen, and I had better get used to that.

How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise!

The desire of excessive power caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge caused men to fall.

I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old.

Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man.

I used to read five psalms every day – that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man.

If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles.

Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.

Step with care and great tact, and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.

Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.

There are many harsh lessons to be learned from the gambling experience, but the harshest one of all is the difference between having Fun and being Smart.

Who would set a limit to the mind of man? Who would dare assert that we know all there is to be known?

We hear only those questions for which we are in a position to find answers.

The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant.

The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom.

A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune and favour cannot satisfy him.

By the time you’ve reached your sixties, you do know that one day you will die, and knowing that is at least the beginning of wisdom.

At fifty everyone has the face he deserves.

My father wasn’t perfect. He had a temper. I took some of that. He would snap, but the older he got, he started calming down. He learned about life, but the thing that he taught my whole family was that family was the most important thing and, no matter what, if a family member needs you, you go and help them out; you get there.

Entire ignorance is not so terrible or extreme an evil, and is far from being the greatest of all; too much cleverness and too much learning, accompanied with ill bringing-up, are far more fatal.

One man that has a mind and knows it can always beat ten men who haven’t and don’t.

Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed… It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.

It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.

I am not the first Buddha who came upon Earth, nor shall I be the last. In due time, another Buddha will arise in the world – a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of angels and mortals.

He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.

Forty to 60 I would say is your prime. That’s when you know the most, you’ve seen the most, you understand the most, and you still have some physical energy.

When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together.

The real truths of life are never entirely new to you or to anybody because there is a level deep down within you where you already know all the things, all those spiritual truths that you read or hear, and then recognize them. I say ‚recognize‘ because you’re not… it’s not new.

All men are born with a nose and five fingers, but no one is born with a knowledge of God.

Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.

Every bit of me is devoted to love and art. And I aspire to try to be a teacher to my young fans who feel just like I felt when I was younger. I just felt like a freak. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m trying to liberate them, I want to free them of their fears and make them feel that they can make their own space in the world.

Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess.

I was inspired to spend an entire year – my 65th year – reading, researching, and meditating on Lao-tzu’s messages, practicing them and ultimately writing down these insights as I felt Lao-tzu wanted us to know them.

The first step, my son, which one makes in the world, is the one on which depends the rest of our days.