Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober; not to make us sorry but wise.

A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires.

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs -- jolted by every pebble in the road.

A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.

Clothes and manners do not make the man; but, when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.

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 don't like these cold, precise, perfect people, who, in order not to speak wrong, never speak at all, and in order not to do wrong, never do anything.

In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.

Next to ingratitude the most painful thing to bear is gratitude.

Speak when you are angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

The real democratic American ideal is, not that every man shall be on a level with every other man, but that every man shall have liberty to be what God made him, without hindrance.

There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.

There was never a person who did anything worth doing that did not receive more than he gave.

To array a man's will against his sickness is the supreme art of medicine.