The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.

Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves.

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.

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.

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.

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.

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

How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself?

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

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise.

To establish true self-esteem, we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.