"I like man, but not men...." - Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When he is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something; ... he learns his ignorance, is cured of the insanity of conceit; has got moderation and real skill.”

“Speech is better than silence; silence is better than speech.”

“We have a great deal more kindness than is ever spoken. (Despite) all the selfishness that chills like east winds the world, the whole human family is bathed with an element of love like a fine ether... The effect of the indulgence of this human affection is a certain cordial exhilaration.”

“I have never looked at foreign countries or gone there but with the purpose of getting to know the general human qualities that are spread all over the earth in very different forms, and then to find these qualities again in my own country and to recognize and to further them.”

“We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings.”

“Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something.”

“Every man should stand for a force which is perfectly irresistible.”

“Freedom, individualism and being yourself so long as you don't hurt another's physical person or property: The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because he is absolutely himself.”

“The reader, the booklover, must meet his own needs without paying too much attention to what his neighbors say those needs should be.”