The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

He who carries out one good deed acquires one advocate in his own behalf, and he who commits one transgression acquires one accuser against himself. Repentance and good works are like a shield against calamity.

The happiest moments of my life have a been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.

It is only a poor sort of happiness that could ever come by caring very much about our own pleasures. We can only have the highest happiness such as goes along with being a great man, by having wide thoughts and much feeling for the rest of the world as well as ourselves.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.

Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.

He who endeavors to serve, to benefit, and improve the world, is like a swimmer, who struggles against a rapid current, in a river lashed into angry waves by the winds. Often they roar over his head, often they beat him back and baffle him. Most men yield to the stress of the current... Only here and there the stout, strong heart and vigorous arms struggle on toward ultimate success.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.