We are rarely proud when we are alone.

Pride is pleasure arising from a man’s thinking too highly of himself.

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

I don’t spend that much time being introspective, believe it or not. All I know is that I grew up not questioning God because that’s how you are. God was there like the birds and the wind.

The Public is merely a multiplied ‚me.‘

Too often in life, something happens and we blame other people for us not being happy or satisfied or fulfilled. So the point is, we all have choices, and we make the choice to accept people or situations or to not accept situations.

If there is only one thing in my life that I am proud of, it’s that I’ve never been a kept woman.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.

My lectures, based on Islamic teachings, were on various subjects. Some of the titles were, ‚The Intoxication of Life,‘ ‚The Purpose of Life,‘ ‚The Real Cause of Man’s Distress,‘ ‚The Journey to the Goal in Life,‘ and, one of my favorites, ‚The Heart of Man.‘ They contained important insights that spoke to something deep inside me.

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.

I am happy and proud to play for my country and my club Mohun Bagan.

We are America, second to none, and we own the finish line. Don’t forget it.

I’m aware that, whatever the circumstances, there will always be speculation about me.

The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.

Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid.

I’m not good at talking about myself.

The men and women of Afghanistan are building a nation that is free, and proud, and fighting terror – and America is honored to be their friend.

At 30 a man should know himself like the palm of his hand, know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures – be what he is. And, above all, accept these things.

Unbeing dead isn’t being alive.

I never knew a more presumptuous person than myself. The fact that I say that shows that what I say is true.

Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.

Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will get married, and before you know where you are, you will be mothers and fathers; and you will then be tied to a job, or to the kitchen, in which you will gradually wither away. Is that all that your life is going to be?

See how many are better off than you are, but consider how many are worse.

So let’s be honest with ourselves and not take ourselves too serious, and never condemn the other fellow for doing what we are doing every day, only in a different way.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

I don’t want to be alone, I want to be left alone.

Nothing has been purchased more dearly than the little bit of reason and sense of freedom which now constitutes our pride.

The experience of life consists of the experience which the spirit has of itself in matter and as matter, in mind and as mind, in emotion, as emotion, etc.

People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.

The mind of a 19-year-old is very different from the mind of a 26-year-old. You grow. You get into better relationships. You experience more, meet more people, better people. But when you’re in a dark hole at an earlier point in your life – you write about the mindset you’re in at that moment.

You know, it’s not the world that was my oppressor, because what the world does to you, if the world does it to you long enough and effectively enough, you begin to do to yourself.

The people in my songs are all me.

The question isn’t, ‚What do we want to know about people?‘, It’s, ‚What do people want to tell about themselves?‘

We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it’s always your fault, because if you wanted to change you’re the one who has got to change.

Being a full human being is difficult, frightening, and problematical.

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

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

As long as I live, I will never forget that day 21 years ago when I raised my hand and took the oath of citizenship. Do you know how proud I was? I was so proud that I walked around with an American flag around my shoulders all day long.

Of course there are moments that you wonder how long you should be doing it because there are other aspects which are not nice, of this lifestyle. But I just love winning.

Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.

Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.

What nourishes me also destroys me.

It’s like, remember who you always were, where you came from, who your parents were, how they raised you. Because that authentic self is going to follow you all through life, so make sure that it’s solid so it’s something that you can hold on and be proud of for the rest of your life.

Whatever one of us blames in another, each one will find in his own heart.

From my close observation of writers… they fall into two groups: 1) those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and 2) those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review.

As for my own views, they’ve of course evolved over the years. This conception of ‚renouncing beliefs‘ is very odd, as if we’re in some kind of religious cult. I ‚renounce beliefs‘ practically every time I think about the topics or find out what someone else is thinking.

I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should.

Returning to your family and where you came from, and your history… this is what makes you strong. It’s not looking out that’s going to do that – it’s looking in.

To live alone is the fate of all great souls.

I was so ashamed of who I was.

Our vanity is hardest to wound precisely when our pride has just been wounded.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Few are drawn to the person whom others avoid and neglect; people gather around those who have already attracted interest.

I disagree with everything I used to say.

What I have in common with the character in ‚Truman‘ is this incredible need to please people. I feel like I want to take care of everyone and I also feel this terrible guilt if I am unable to. And I have felt this way ever since all this success started.

The age in which we live, this non-stop distraction, is making it more impossible for the young generation to ever have the curiosity or discipline… because you need to be alone to find out anything.

Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues.

Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.

Pride deafens us to the advice or warnings of those around us.

Upon the subjects of which I have treated, I have spoken as I have thought. I may be wrong in regard to any or all of them; but, holding it a sound maxim that it is better only sometimes to be right than at all times to be wrong, so soon as I discover my opinions to be erroneous, I shall be ready to renounce them.