"Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness."

"When you have nothing to say, say nothing."

"We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer tasting them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age."

"Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer."

"If universal charity prevailed, Earth would be a heaven, and hell a fable."

"Times of general calamity and confusion create great minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storms."

"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public."

"The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it."

"The secret of all power is - save your force. If you want high pressure you must choke off waste."

"We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom."

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself."

"If absolute power corrupts absolutely, does absolute powerlessness make you pure?"