No, I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing.

We must distinguish between speaking to deceive and being silent to be reserved.

Silence is the mother of truth.

A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.

Sometimes, it’s just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly, it is exhausting to keep saying no. It’s exhausting to plead with our kids to eat just one more bite of vegetables.

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.

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.

I don’t think I get that upset over things.

Silence is a source of great strength.

I never resist temptation, because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear.

Between stimulus and response, there is a space where we choose our response.

It was still quiet in the house, and not a sound was heard from outside, either. Were it not for this silence, my reverie would probably have been disrupted by reminders of daily duties, of getting up and going to school.

Writing is good, thinking is better. Cleverness is good, patience is better.

He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.

It’s easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.

In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.

To Sun-tzu and the ancient Chinese, doing something extraordinary had little effect without a setup of something ordinary. You had to mix the two – to fix your opponent’s expectations with some banal, ordinary maneuver, a comfortable pattern that they would then expect you to follow.

Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you’re doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you.

Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide.

Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.

Virtue consists, not in abstaining from vice, but in not desiring it.

Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.

Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.

At one time in my life, from the time I was seven until I was about 13, I didn’t speak. I only spoke to my brother. The reason I didn’t speak: I had been molested, and I told the name of the molester to my brother who told it to the family.

He who angers you conquers you.

You hesitate to stab me with a word, and know not – silence is the sharper sword.

He that can have patience can have what he will.

Silence is safer than speech.

Mandela’s heroism is the heroism of a man who suffered so badly for what he thought of as freedom. And yet when he had the upper hand he has this incredible self-control and these incredible leadership qualities.

An ass may bray a good while before he shakes the stars down.

The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.

Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath.

Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit.

Wisdom does not show itself so much in precept as in life – in firmness of mind and a mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a color.

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.

You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself.

Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear other men’s imperfections, and conceal your own.

This is me, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned his gaze. And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pontiff. I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.

Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.

Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?

In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood.

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people’s lives.

Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it.

No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.

George is a radio announcer, and when he walks under a bridge… you can’t hear him talk.

‚Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall.

I think you can judge from somebody’s actions a kind of a stability and sense of purpose perhaps created by strong religious roots. I mean, there’s a certain patience, a certain discipline, I think, that religion helps you achieve.

He who gives away shall have real gain. He who subdues himself shall be free; he shall cease to be a slave of passions. The righteous man casts off evil, and by rooting out lust, bitterness, and illusion do we reach Nirvana.

It is a strange desire, to seek power, and to lose liberty; or to seek power over others, and to lose power over a man’s self.

To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.

I like playing. I wouldn’t be a good coach. I don’t have the patience to be a coach.

Saying nothing… sometimes says the most.

Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.

It is hard to contend against one’s heart’s desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul.

Being at ease with not knowing is crucial for answers to come to you.