Your reputation is in the hands of others. That's what the reputation is. You can't control that. The only thing you can control is your character.
I have had good experience and trial of this world...I know what it is to be a subject, what to be a sovereign, what to have good neighbours, and sometimes meet evil willers. I have found treason in trust, seen great benefits little regarded.
The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.
The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.
Promises are like crying babies in a theater, they should be carried out at once.
It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.
Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.
Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty.
No man has any natural authority over his fellow men.
If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.
A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.
If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?
The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.
To a wise and good man the whole earth is his fatherland.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
To me, being an intellectual doesn't mean knowing about intellectual issues; it means taking pleasure in them.
To live is not merely to breathe; it is to act; it is to make use of our organs, senses, faculties - of all those parts of ourselves which give us the feeling of existence
But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.
So many people have this idea: I want to achieve something great or be somebody great. And they neglect the step that leads to greatness. They don't honor this step at this moment because they have this idea of some future moment where they are going to be great.
It takes a great man to be a good listener.
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
