Judicial judgment must take deep account of the day before yesterday in order that yesterday may not paralyze today.
There are no riches like the sweetness of content, nor poverty comparable to the want of patience.
It is better to be well deserving without praise than to live by the air of undeserved commendation.
When the scale of sensuality bears down that of reason, the baseness of our nature conducts us to most preposterous conclusions.
A foolish man in wealth and authority is like a weak-timbered house with a too-ponderous roof.
Harsh reproof is like a violent storm, soon washed down the channel; but friendly admonitions, like a small shower, pierce deep, and bring forth better reformation.
He that rectifies a crooked stick bends it the contrary way, so must he that would reform a vice learn to affect its mere contrary, and in time he shall see the springing blossoms of a happy restoration.
The funny thing about Facebook and Twitter is, you can go on there and see what's going on in the world without watching the news. I get so much news off of social media. I think it's cool. It's changed everything, not just music. It's changed the world. It definitely is a good thing. I don't really know what I think of it yet more than that. I haven't really sorted that out for myself.
It's the desire to study the human condition, the desire for collaboration, to learn and absorb, and to lead a well-examined life.
The weak economy, widening income inequality, gridlock in Congress and a presidential election: Those were perhaps the dominant economic and political themes of 2012.
How shall I sum up my life? I think I've been particularly lucky. Does that have something to do with faith also? I know my mother always used to say, 'Good things aren't supposed to just fall in your lap. God is very generous, but he expects you to do your part first. ' So you have to make that effort. But at the end of a bad time or a huge effort, I've always had - how shall I say it? - the prize at the end. My whole life shows that.