Echoes

Men do not stumble over mountains, but over molehills

Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.

Never stray from the Way.

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.

Everything in excess is opposed to nature.

Stubborn and ardent clinging to one's opinion is the best proof of stupidity.

To see what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.

I rely on two precedents: first, to similar cases our Sages applied the verse, "It is time to do something in honour of the Lord: for they have made void thy law"... Secondly, they have said, "Let all thy acts be guided by pure intentions." ...Lastly, when I have a difficult subject before me—when I find the road narrow, and can see no other way of teaching a well established truth except by pleasing one intelligent man and displeasing ten thousand fools—I prefer to address myself to the one man, and to take no notice whatever of the condemnation of the multitude; I prefer to extricate that intelligent man from his embarrassment and show him the cause of his perplexity, so that he may attain perfection and be at peace.

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.

There are some men who expose themselves to damnation so foolishly by avarice, by brutality, by debauches, by violence, by excesses, by blasphemies! ...it is always a great folly for a man to expose himself to damnation... He must despise desire and its kingdom, and aspire to that kingdom of love in which all the subjects breathe nothing but love, and desire nothing but the benefits of love.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing.

Bear in mind, that if through toil you accomplish a good deed, that toil will quickly pass from you, the good deed will not leave you so long as you live; but if through pleasure you do anything dishonourable, the pleasure will quickly pass away, that dishonourable act will remain with you for ever.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

An action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure.

Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.

These circumstances, trivial as they may seem, have their importance; since without them we could never have come to any certainty.

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.