The passions are the winds which fill the sails of the vessel; they sink it at times, but without them it would be impossible to make way.
Childhood itself is scarcely more lovely than a cheerful, kindly, sunshiny old age.
Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture.
An effort made for the happiness of others lifts above ourselves.
Make people happy and there will not be half the quarreling, or a tenth part of the wickedness there now is.
Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us what to do, it always cautions us what not to do.
You find yourself refreshed in the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an honest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy.
It must have meant something, though, that at this turn of my life I grabbed up a book. Because it was in books that I would find, for the next few years, my lovers. They were men, not boys. They were self-possessed and sardonic, with a ferocious streak in them, reserves of gloom.
I'd like to be called Ransom Spunk or Spunk Ransom.
When I went to law school, which I put myself through for $100,000 dollars of debt, I didn't expect anybody to pay for my health insurance, which I had none of. No health insurance.
If you only stand up for speech you approve of, you're a hack. If you only stand up for speech that everyone approves of, you're a coward.