“I stick my finger in existence — it smells of nothing. Where am I? Who am I? How came I here? What is this thing called the world?”

“A son is a mirror in which the father sees himself reflected, and the father is a mirror in which the son sees himself as he will be in the future.”

“There are many people who reach their conclusions about life like schoolboys; they cheat their master by copying the answer out of a book without having worked out the sum for themselves.”

“It belongs to the imperfection of everything human that man can only attain his desire by passing through its opposite.”

“The greatest danger, that of losing one's own self, may pass off as quietly as if it were nothing; every other loss, that of an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife etc., is sure to be noticed.”

“Faith sees best in the dark.”

“Happiness is the final and perfect fruit of obedience to the laws of life.”

“The highest result of education is tolerance.”

“Example is the best lesson there is.”

“Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth.”

“It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

“In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”