Ordinary people think merely how they shall spend their time; a man of any talent tries to use it.

Only under a favorable fate like this can a man be said to be born free, to be, in the proper sense of the word, sui juris, master of his own time and powers, and able to say every morning, This day is my own.

In all we do, almost the first thing we think about is, what will people say; and nearly half the troubles and bothers of life may be traced to our anxiety on this score;

The world in which a man lives shapes itself chiefly by the way in which he looks at it, and so it proves different to different men; to one it is barren, dull, and superficial; to another rich, interesting, and full of meaning.

every man is pent up within the limits of his own consciousness,

and when Socrates saw various articles of luxury spread out for sale, he exclaimed: How much there is in the world I do not want.

The ordinary man places his life’s happiness in things external to him, in property, rank, wife and children, friends, society, and the like, so that when he loses them or finds them disappointing, the foundation of his happiness is destroyed. In other words, his centre of gravity is not in himself; it is constantly changing its place, with every w

Besides, other people’s heads are a wretched place to be the home of a man’s true happiness–a fanciful happiness perhaps, but not a real one.

so long as the statement is withdrawn, all is well. The truth is that conduct of this kind aims, not at earning respect, but at extorting it.