Aristotle

(384-322BC) Greek Philosopher

Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve
them.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting

it.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

A man who is angry on the right grounds, against the right persons, in the right
manner, at the right moment, and for the right length of time deserves great praise

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

Confucius
(551-479BC) Chinese Ethical Teacher, Philosopher

By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection which is noblest; second,
by imitation, which is the easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fall.

To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage, or of principle.

When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing,
to allow that you do not know it--this is knowledge.

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

Lao-Tzu
(604-531BC) Chinese Philosopher, Co-founder of Taoism

To know others is wisdom, to know oneself is enlightenment.

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that
which is small.

All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.

He who knows does not speak; He who speaks does not know. He who is truthful is
not showy; He who is showy is not truthful. He who is virtuous does not dispute; He
who disputes is not virtuous. He who is learned is not wise; He who is wise is not
learned. Therefore the sage does not display his own merits.
The journey of a thousand leagues begins from beneath your feet.

The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.

To see things in the seed, that is genius.

Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with
goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also
honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.

Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939) Austrian Physician, Founder of Psychoanalysis

From error to error one discovers the entire truth.

Analogies, it is true, decide nothing, but they can make one feel more at home.

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy
pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes
collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.

In the small matters trust the mind, in the large ones the heart.

Look into the depths of your own soul and learn first to know yourself, then you will
understand why this illness was bound to come upon you and perhaps you will
thenceforth avoid falling ill.

Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our
instinctual desires.

What we call happiness in the strictest sense comes from the (preferably sudden)
satisfaction of needs which have been dammed up to a high degree.

When inspiration does not come to me, I go halfway to meet it.

Heraclitus of Ephesus
(535-475BC) Greek Philosopher

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the
same man.

Men who love wisdom should acquaint themselves with a great many particulars.

Much learning does not teach understanding.

The road up and the road down is one and the same.
Albert Einstein
(1879-1955) German-born American Physicist

A person starts to live when he can live outside himself.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

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.

Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

God doesn't play dice with the universe.

I admit thoughts influence the body.

I came to America because of the great, great freedom which I heard existed in this
country. I made a mistake in selecting America as a land of freedom, a mistake I
cannot repair in the balance of my lifetime.

I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.

Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited while

imagination embraces the entire world.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be
counted.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope
and confidence.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.

The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the
universe.

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created
them.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

Robert Browning
(1812-1889) British Poet

When the fight begins within himself, a man's worth something.

A minute's success pays the failure of years.

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?

Plato
(427-347BC) Greek Philosopher

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say
something.

Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and

dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal alike.

How can you determine whether at this moment we are sleeping, and all our thoughts
are a dream; or whether we are awake, and talking to one another in the waking state.

I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering
upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble
to content myself with.

No human thing is of serious importance.

Nothing in the affairs of men is worthy of great anxiety.

Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history.

Rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that
of which we are ignorant.

They deem him their worst enemy who tells them the truth.

Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself.

Mark Twain
(1835-1910) American Author, Humorist

Work like you don't need the money. Dance like no one is watching. And love like
you've never been hurt.

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

A man is accepted into church for what he believes - and turned out for what he
knows.

Always tell the truth; then you don't have to remember anything.

Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, I have friends in both
places.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all
doubt.

It is curious - curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and
moral courage so rare.

Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.

Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.

The man who does not read good books is at no advantage over the man who can't
read them.

The truth is a precious commodity. That's why I use it so sparingly.

We can secure other people's approval, if we do right and try hard; but our own is
worth a hundred of it.

When in doubt tell the truth.

Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.
Blaise Pascal
(1623-1662) French Scientist, Religious Philosopher

All the good maxims have been written. It only remains to put them into practice.

It is the heart which perceives God, and not the reason.

The heart has its reasons that reason cannot know.

We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.

When the passions become masters, they are vices.

Napoleon Bonaparte
(1769-1821) French Soldier, Emperor

There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest.

A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.

A man's palate can, in time, become accustomed to anything.

Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.

If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.

Imagination rules the world.

Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools.

It is only a step from victory to disaster. My experience is that, in a crisis, some detail
always decides the issue.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.

The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.

The human race is governed by its imagination.

The only conquests which are permanent and leave no regrets are our conquests over
ourselves.

You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your tricks of
war.
Anatole France
(1844-1924) French Author, Nobel Prize Winner

A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance.

I cling to my imperfections as the very essence of my being.

If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.

If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.

In art as in love, instinct is enough.

Innocence most often is a good fortune and not a virtue.

It is better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.

It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.

It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly.

It is in the ability to deceive oneself that the greatest talent is shown.

It is well for the heart to be naive and the mind not to be.

Nine tenths of education is encouragement.

Of all the sexual aberrations, chastity is the strangest.

That man is prudent who neither hopes nor fears anything from the uncertain events
of the future.

The average man does not know what to do with this life, yet wants another one which
will last forever.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but
also believe.

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and
the universe.