Quote collection
258 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and unless you possess the key to their motives you may at any moment be forced to take their chestnuts out of the fire to the damage of your own fingers."
"Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way."
"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one."
"Do not commit yourself to anybody or anything, for that is to be a slave, a slave to every man Above all, keep yourself free of commitments and obligations - they are the device of another to get you into his power"
"He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything."
"It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards."
"Self-reflection is the school of wisdom."
"A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends."
"Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it."
"The wise have a solid sense of silence and the ability to keep a storehouse of secrets. Their capacity and character are respected."
"To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing."
"Know or listen to those who know."
"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil."
"Don't show off every day, or you'll stop surprising people. There must always be some novelty left over. The person who displays a little more of it each day keeps up expectations, and no one ever discovers the limits of his talent."
"Keep the extent of your abilities unknown.The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he desires to be honored at all. He allows you to know them but not to comprehend them. No one must know the extent of his abilities, lest he be disappointed. No one ever has an opportunity of fathoming him entirely. For guesses and doubts about the extent of his talents arouse more veneration than accurate knowledge of them, be they ever so great."
"There are friendships merely for pleasure, some for the exchange of ideas. Rarest are those friends of one's inmost self."
"A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity."
"Know how to play the card of contempt. It is the most politic kind of revenge. For there are many of whom we should have known nothing if their distinguished opponents had taken no notice of them. There is no revenge like oblivion, for it is the entombment of the unworthy in the dust of their own nothingness."
"It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it."
"Always act as if you were seen."