I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of catfish.
As soon as any man says of the affairs of the State "What does it matter to me?" the State may be given up for lost.
People in their natural state are basically good. But this natural innocence,however, is corrupted by the evils of society.
We are born weak, we need strength; helpless, we need aid; foolish, we need reason. All that we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man's estate, is the gift of education.
There are always four sides to a story: your side, their side, the truth and what really happened.
You forget that the fruits belong to all and that the land belongs to no one.
In a well governed state, there are few punishments, not because there are many pardons, but because criminals are rare; it is when a state is in decay that the multitude of crimes is a gaurantee of impunity.
My life is so full of surprises, nothing surprises me any more.
Now the most comprehensive conception of this new world is of one politically, socially and economically united To this end a small but increasing body of people in the world set their faces and seek to direct their lives.
People who are difficult, whether they're getting their $10 million or $10,000, are going to be difficult no matter what. It really just depends on the person.
We have been accustomed to thinking that we have to get something from outside us in order to be happy, but in truth it works the other way: we must learn to contact our inner source of happiness and satisfaction and flow it outward to share with others-not because it is virtuous to do so, but because it really feels good.