Only when we realize that there is no eternal, unchanging truth or absolute truth can we arouse in ourselves a sense of intellectual responsibility.

You and only you are responsible for your life choices and decisions.

The aim of art, the aim of a life can only be to increase the sum of freedom and responsibility to be found in every man and in the world. It cannot, under any circumstances, be to reduce or suppress that freedom, even temporarily.

I never encounter anything except my responsibility.

Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.

The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it continues the true source of national vigor and strength. Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates.

You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible.

Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will - his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals.

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself—and be lenient to everybody else.

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

A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.

A man has to learn that he cannot command things, but that he can command himself; that he cannot coerce the wills of others, but that he can mold and master his own will: and things serve him who serves Truth; people seek guidance of him who is master of himself.

I had long since taught myself to follow the inner voice. I delighted in submitting to it. To act against it would be difficult and painful to me.

Before a man can accomplish anything of an enduring nature in the world, he must first of all acquire some measure of success in the management of his own mind.

You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man’s actions are, such must be his spirit.

I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.

To make a contented slave it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken the moral and mental vision and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason.

He who has so little knowledge of human natures as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.

An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of revelation.

I've always felt that a person's intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view he can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.

There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it.

Drink does not drown care, but waters it, and makes it grow faster.

The world is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those that feel.

There is no rampart that will hold out against malice.

A thief is a man in need. A liar is a man in fear.

Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute.

It wasn't until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say "I don't know."