Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
— The Art of War
Quotes About Life
But only he who, himself enlightened, is not afraid of shadows.
— An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment?
Another school declares that all time has already transpired and that our life is only the crepuscular and no doubt falsified and mutilated memory or reflection of an irrecoverable process.
— Ficciones
To discover the mode of life or of art whereby my spirit could express itself in unfettered freedom.
— A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
You must learn to forgive a man when he's in love. He's always a nuisance.
— The Light That Failed
Nothing should be so greatly feared as empty fame.
— Thoughts on Art and Life
We feel that even if all possible scientific questions be answered, the problems of life have still not been touched at all.
— Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Leave off asking what tomorrow will bring, andwhatever days fortune will give, count themas profit.
— The Odes of Horace
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
— Anne Frank's Tales from the Secret Annex
Don't lose heart if it's very difficult at times, everything will come out all right and nobody can in the beginning do as he wishes.
— The Letters of Vincent van Gogh
Brass shines with constant usage, a beautiful dress needs wearing, Leave a house empty, it rots.
— The Erotic Poems
What was the future? The future was a solid wall, not promising, not threatening - all bunk. No guarantees of anything, not even the guarantee that life isn't one big joke.
— Chronicles, Vol. 1
He took in the squeaky music, the vulgar and pining melodies, because passion immobilizes good taste and seriously considers what soberly would be thought of as funny and to be resented.
— Death in Venice and Other Tales
If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.
— The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809–82
Never subject to the rules, believing that the correct judgement and healthy nature keep her in the honesty she lived in.
— The Ladies' Paradise
My heart in passion, and my head on rhymes.
— Don Juan
When you know you have unconditional love, there is no point in rebellion and no need to fear failure.
— Decision Points
No man ever threw away life while it was worth keeping.
— Essays on Suicide and the Immortality of the Soul
Bring the mind into sharp focus and make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere. The mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought processes and even ordinary thought itself.
— Tao of Jeet Kune Do
All through my life, I have been tested. My will has been tested, my courage has been tested, my strength has been tested. Now my patience and endurance are being tested.
— The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey
Love consists of a commitment which limits one's freedom - it is a giving of the self, and to give oneself means just that: to limit one's freedom on behalf of another.
— Love and Responsibility
Your hand can seize today, but not tomorrow; and thoughts of your tomorrow are nothing but desire. Don’t waste this breath, if your heart isn’t crazy, since "the rest of your life" won’t last forever.
— Quatrains - Ballades
We cannot ignore our gift of the future.
— Just Peace: A Message of Hope
...we ought not meanwhile to make use of doubt in the conduct of life.
— Principles of Philosophy