The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.

He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to.

And no one will listen to us until we listen to ourselves.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.

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.

A friend to all is a friend to none

Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.

Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

Desire, ignorance, and inequality—this is the trinity of bondage.

Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.

The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.

I have already joined myself in marriage to a husband, namely the kingdom of England.

In moments of great grief, that’s where you look and immerse yourself. You realise you are not immortal, you are not a god, you are part of the natural world and you come to accept that.

Criticize the act, not the person.

The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.

You place too much importance... on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!

He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

I think, therefore I am.