Benjamin Disraeli

"A good friend is my nearest relation."

"The heart has its reasons that reason does not understand."

"Knowledge is power, but enthusiasm pulls the switch."

"The secret of success is constancy to purpose."

"Man is not the creature of circumstances; circumstances are the creatures of men."

"I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole."

"There is no education like adversity."

"The greatest good you can do for another is just to share your soul with them."

"Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory."

"Courage is the greatest of all the virtues, because if you haven't courage, you may not have opportunity to use any of the others."

"Sleep is a death; oh, how I loathe these little slices of death."

"The very essence of truth is plainness and brightness."

"I am always of the opinion that the humblest person is the greatest."

"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance."

"Continuous effort—not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential."

"The world is weary of statesmen whom democracy has degraded into politicians."

"A man may speak very well in the House of Commons, and fail very completely in the House of Lords."

"Nothing in life is more inevitable than change, yet nothing troubles us more."

"Silence is sometimes more eloquent than words."

"The youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity."

"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge."

"Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action."

"The art of conversation is to understand the use of pauses."

"I believe that without stirring of the heart there is no genius."

"In every circumstance of life, it is a wise policy to recognize the superior wisdom of the ancients."

"Beware of the man who will not engage in idle conversation; he is planning something."

"That fatal drollery called a representative government."

"The greatest delight in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

"We sanctify human nature when we believe in ourselves."

"I hate definitions; they are almost as much trouble as the things defined."