Excellence" is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice. We do not act "rightly" because we are "excellent", in fact we achieve "excellence" by acting "rightly".

The right question is usually more important than the right answer.

Don't force your children into your ways, for they were created for a time different from your own.

The first and the best victory is to conquer self.

Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.

Mankind will never see an end of trouble until lovers of wisdom come to hold political power, or the holders of power become lovers of wisdom

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

The worst form of injustice is pretended justice.

Just as bees make honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so do the wise profit from the most difficult of experiences.

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.

The one who learns and learns and doesn't practice is like the one who plows and plows and never plants.

To begin is the most important part of any quest and by far the most courageous.

Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.

Poverty doesn't come because of the decrease of wealth but because of the increase of desires.

When you feel grateful, you become great, and eventually attract great things.

The measure of a man is what he does with power.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.