The number of those 

who undergo the fatigue 

of judging for themselves 

is very small indeed.

The measure of a man's real character 

is what he would do 

if he knew he would never be found out.

Others have seen what is and asked why. 

I have seen what could be and asked why not.

There are no right answers to wrong questions.

Our own heart, 

and not other men's opinions 

form our true honour.

To find out what one is fitted to do, 

and to secure an opportunity to do it, 

is the key to happiness.

Homo sapiens, 

the only creature endowed with reason, 

is also the only creature 

to pin its existence on things unreasonable.

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.

Once we believe in ourselves, 

we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, 

or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

The conscience of the world is so guilty 

that it always assumes 

that people who investigate heresies 

must be heretics

Good writing excites me, 

and makes life worth living.

If I don't know I don't know, 

I think I know. 

If I don't know I know, 

I think I don't know.

No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings.

The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself.

First they ignore you, 

then they laugh at you, 

then they fight you, 

then you win.

You must be a lotus, 

unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the sky, 

unaffected by the slush where it is born 

or even the water which sustains it!

Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; 

doing what is impossible for talent is genius.

Making itself intelligible is suicide for philosophy.

It's not wise to violate rules until you know how to observe them.

Don't become a mere recorder of facts, 

but try to penetrate the mystery of their origin.

Crime and bad lives are the measure of a State's failure, 

all crime in the end is the crime of the community.

Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. 

As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, 

so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise.

Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, 

and to be esteemed polite oneself.

For every complex problem 

there is an answer that is clear, simple, and 

wrong.

Be still when you have nothing to say; 

when genuine passion moves you, 

say what you've got to say, 

and say it hot.

Humility is not cowardice. 

Meekness is not weakness. 

Humility and meekness are indeed spiritual powers.

You have to remind people of their own struggles. 

It's a responsibility.

I am patient with stupidity 

but not with those who are proud of it.

Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion.

Free the child's potential, 

and you will transform him into the world.

My dreams were all my own; 

I accounted for them to nobody; 

they were my refuge when annoyed

 — my dearest pleasure when free.

Knowing is not enough; 

we must apply. 

Willing is not enough; 

we must do.

Education is the art of making man ethical.

Nothing is built on stone; 

all is built on sand, 

but we must build as if the sand were stone.

Happiness is having a scratch for every itch.

Boldness is a mask for fear, 

however great.

We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our education system.

The public is a bad guesser.

To be ambitious of true honour, 

of the true glory and perfection of our natures, 

is the very principle and incentive of virtue.

Never let a man imagine that he can pursue a good end by evil means, 

without sinning against his own soul. 

The evil effect on himself is certain.

No self is an island; 

each exists in a fabric of relations 

that is now more complex and mobile 

than ever before.

The same words conceal and declare the thoughts of men.

We see things in this material world, 

wherein our bodies dwell, 

only because our mind 

through its attention 

lives in another world, 

only because it contemplates 

the beauties of the archetypal and intelligible world 

which Reason contains.

In much of society, research means to investigate something you do not know or understand.

A man, 

to be greatly good, 

must imagine intensely and comprehensively; 

he must put himself in the place of another 

and of many others; 

the pains and pleasures of his species must become his own.

The aims of life are the best defence against death.

An idea isn't responsible for the people who believe in it.

Without this playing with fantasy 

no creative work has ever yet come to birth. 

The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.

The possibilities are numerous 

once we decide to act 

and not react.

Judgement comes from experience, 

and experience comes from bad judgement.