A wretched soul, bruis’d with adversity, We bid be quiet, when we hear it cry, But were we burthen’d with like weight of pain, We bid be quiet, when we hear it cry, As much, or more, we should ourselves complain.

Difficulties, by bracing the mind to overcome them, assist cheerfulness, as exercise assists digestion.

Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.

Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.

Do not forget small kindnesses and do not remember small faults.

It requires less character to discover the faults of others than is does to tolerate them.

Failure teaches success.

Disappointments are to the soul what thunderstorms are to the air.

To unpathed waters, undreamed shores.

Hope is the dream of the waking man.

There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.

Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.

Exert your talents, and distinguish yourself, and don’t think of retiring from the world, until the world will be sorry that you retire.

The best rules to form a young man are: to talk little, to hear much, to reflect alone upon what has passed in company, to distrust one’s own opinions, and value others that deserve it.

Our minds are as different as our faces: we are all traveling to one destination; –happiness; but few are going by the same road.

No man is happy who does not think himself so.

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

Imagination is the eye of the soul.

First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do.

The power of imagination makes us infinite.

A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible.

Let him who would be moved to convince others, be first moved to convince himself.

As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more.

Life is a rich strain of music, suggesting a realm too fair to be.

Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose–a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.

What you are must always displease you, if you would attain to that which you are not.

There is nothing noble about being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it.

The man who makes a success of an important venture never wails for the crowd. He strikes out for himself. It takes nerve, it takes a great lot of grit; but the man that succeeds has both. Anyone can fail. The public admires the man who has enough confidence in himself to take a chance. These chances are the main things after all. The man who tries to succeed must expect to be criticized. Nothing important was ever done but the greater number consulted previously doubted the possibility. Success is the accomplishment of that which most people think can’t be done.

He who know most grieves most for wasted time.

Time is but the stream I go a-fishin in.

The rose is fairest when ‘t is budding new, and hope is brightest when it dawns from fears.

He either fears his fate too much, Or his deserts are small, Who dares not put it to the touch, To gain or lose it all.