It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain for himself.

Be yourself and think for yourself; and while your conclusions may not be infallible they will be nearer right than the conclusions forced upon you by those who have a personal interest in keeping you in ignorance.

Formal learning can teach you a great deal, but many of the essential skills in life are the ones you have to develop on your own.

A great maxim of personal responsibility and mature achievement-Do It Yourself-is now the enthroned cliche for being occupied with nonessentials.

Who cannot resolve upon a moment's notice To live his own life, he forever lives A slave to others.

A learned man is not learned in all things; but a sufficient man is sufficient throughout, even to ignorance itself.

A wise man never loses anything if he have himself.

I care not so much what I am in the opinion of others, as what I am in my own; I would be rich of myself, and not by borrowing.

I do my intellectual work inside myself, and once I am with my fellow creatures it is more or less a matter of indifference to me whether or not they are intelligent as long as they are kind, sincere, etc.

Whatever the time or circumstances, the feeling that I am a peasant gives me a rare self-sufficiency. Indeed, the land is always there. I can go back to it at any time.