A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others.

The thought of only being a creature of the present and the past was troubling. I longed for a future, too, with hope in it. The desire to be free, awakened my determination to act, to think, and to speak.

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

And even a liar can be scared into telling the truth, same as honest man can be tortured into telling a life.

A leader's greatness is found in bringing out greatness in others.

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men—the other 999 follow women.

If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important, and you do that by being genuine and humble.

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.

The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.

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

He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still.

The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.

If you compromise your own conscience, you will weaken your conscience. Soon your conscience will fail to guide you and you never will have real wealth based on peace of mind.

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.

The stability of the internal medium is a primary condition for the freedom and independence of certain living bodies in relation to the environment surrounding them.

When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.

What the superior man seeks is in himself. What the small man seeks is in 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.