“We should tell ourselves, once and for all, that it is the first duty of the soul to become as happy, complete, independent, and great as lies in its power. Herein is no egoism, or pride. To become effectually generous and sincerely humble there must be within us a confident, tranquil, and clear comprehension of all that we owe to ourselves.”

“It is sad to love and be unloved, but sadder still to be unable to love.”

“At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.”

“It is not from reason that justice springs, but goodness is born of wisdom.”

“Many a happiness in life, as many a disaster, can be due to chance, but the peace within us can never be governed by chance.”

“We possess only the happiness we are able to understand.”

“Remember that happiness is as contagious as gloom. It should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness.”

“All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than animals that know nothing.”

“Do we not all spend the greater part of our lives under the shadow of an event that has not yet come to pass?”

“To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.”

“You do well to have visions of a better life than of every day but it is the life of every day from which the elements of a better life must come.”