"It is a universal law — have no illusion — that every creature alive is attached to nothing so much as to its own self-interest."

"Whoever is not content with what he has, would not be content with what he wishes to have."

"If a man has seen a snake, and has not been bitten, but has been frightened, he is not on that account the less afraid, although he may say, 'I am not afraid.'"

"It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

"Imagine a dog tied to a cart. If the dog wants to follow, it follows, adding its own will to the inevitable. But if the dog refuses to follow, it will be dragged along anyway."