Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did andit never will.

Never answer a letter while you are angry.

He who hurriescannot walk with dignity.

It's good to shut up sometimes.

Any man can make mistakes but only an idiot persists in his error.

The wicked are not always clever, nor are dictators always right.

A merefriend will agree with you, but a real friend will argue.

Knowingthat everything's futile but still fighting, still raging against the dying ofthe light that's what motivates me all the time ... If you hold that sense offutility in your head for too long, it can begin to eat into you. You canstill be aware of it

To startblindly with a statement is a sign of arrogance and narrow-mindedness, andwill lead to conflict. To start blindly with a question is a sign ofuncertainty and honesty, and will lead to wisdom.

Neverforget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes onand on and may at last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously.

Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.

Nature's instructions are always slow, those of men are generally premature.