We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.

The right man is the one who seizes the moment.

You will learn and grow according to the nature and consequences of your actions.

You don’t have to depend on any material possessions, they depend on you, you create them, you own the one and only tool of production.

What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness for the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.

Those disputing, contradicting, and confuting people are generally unfortunate in their affairs. They get victory, sometimes, but they never get good will, which would be of more use to them.

Character develops itself in the stream of life.

One can acquire everything in solitude—except character.

So it is more useful to watch a man in time of peril, and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask it torn off, reality remains.

Duty, honor, country. Those three hallowed words dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.

If it is any use to know it, I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it under water for every part that shows.

A fast way to demolish relationships, shatter credibility and disrespect yourself is by not following through when you say you are going to do something.

It is frightful that people who are so ignorant should have so much influence.

At the center of your being you are the answer. You know who you are, and you know what you want.

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.

Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and knowledge are not infused into us from without.

When you see a good man, try to emulate his example, and when you see a bad man, search yourself for his faults.

We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.

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.