The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life – knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.

This isn’t life in the fast lane, it’s life in the oncoming traffic.

Nothing can have value without being an object of utility.

All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.

Men would be angels, angels would be gods.

No notice is taken of a little evil, but when it increases it strikes the eye.

Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.

I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.

Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.

As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.

I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.

Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight.

As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.

Education is the period during which you are being instructed by somebody you do not know, about something you do not want to know.

Truth is a good dog; but always beware of barking too close to the heels of an error, lest you get your brains kicked out.

Fanatics are picturesque, mankind would rather see gestures than listen to reasons.

To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true!

I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools do.

Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas.

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.

Sooner or later, I hate to break it to you, you’re gonna die, so how do you fill in the space between here and there? It’s yours. Seize your space.

We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths.

There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.

Religion is the opium of the masses.

My life has been long, and believing that life loves the liver of it, I have dared to try many things, sometimes trembling, but daring still.

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.

Many Tibetans sacrifice their lives.

Over the years I’ve seen people lose a spouse and then withdraw and lose interest in life, and I believe we need to resist that.

Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.

Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.

There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view.

Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.

It is easy to dismiss the world as ‚irrelevant,‘ or consumed by ‚paranoid anti-Americanism,‘ but perhaps not wise.

What was God doing before the divine creation?

Those thoughts are truth which guide us to beneficial interaction with sensible particulars as they occur, whether they copy these in advance or not.

Before a man speaks it is always safe to assume that he is a fool. After he speaks, it is seldom necessary to assume it.

Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals.

Judges ought to be more leaned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.

Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.

There are as many pillows of illusion as flakes in a snow-storm. We wake from one dream into another dream.

In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.

I give the name of cosmic sense to the more or less confused affinity that binds us psychologically to the All which envelops us. The existence of this feeling is indubitable, and apparently as old as the beginning of thought… The cosmic sense must have been born as soon as man found himself facing the forest, the sea and the stars.

Those who have knowledge, don’t predict. Those who predict, don’t have knowledge.

Necessity is not an established fact, but an interpretation.

Life is abundant, and life is beautiful. And it’s a good place that we’re all in, you know, on this earth, if we take care of it.

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.

If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men’s cottage princes‘ palaces.

I sometimes think that the price of liberty is not so much eternal vigilance as eternal dirt.

He who seeks does not find, but he who does not seek will be found.

I want you to feel happy and enjoy the theatre of my life the way that I do. No matter what happens with my music and wherever I go – that heart of that glamorous girl in New York will never be gone.

The fool wonders, the wise man asks.

Kisses are a better fate than wisdom.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.

There is a difference between happiness and wisdom: he that thinks himself the happiest man is really so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.

Water is life, and clean water means health.

We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one.

As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.