No one can draw more out of things, books included, than he already knows. A man has no ears for that to which experience has given him no access.

Much reading is an oppression of the mind, and extinguishes the natural candle, which is the reason of so many senseless scholars in the world.

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it—and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove lid again—and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one any more.

Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionately to their occupancy of your thoughts.

To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold.

Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience.

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story.

Individuals are the sum of their unique experiences, challenges, and accomplishments. What matters is not the barriers they face, but how they choose to confront them. And their race is not to blame for everything—good or bad—that happens in their lives.

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.

One cannot conceive anything so strange and so implausible that it has not already been said by one philosopher or another.

There is nothing so absurd or ridiculous that has not at some time been said by some philosopher.

I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who.

Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.

There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.

My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.

Being at ease with not knowing is crucial for answers to come to you.

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.

If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you’re allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.

No man is born unto himself alone; who lives unto himself, he lives to none.