Thomas Hobbes

"Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."

"The life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short without the protection of law."

"Leisure is the mother of philosophy."

"The sovereign power is the soul of the commonwealth."

"All signs and interpretations of happiness depend upon the desires of the mind."

"Felicity consists in having a prosperous passage through the various ages of our life."

"The greatest contentment comes from the secure possession of what we desire."

"Ambition and fear are the two primary forces that drive human behavior."

"Eloquence is the image of knowledge, not the knowledge itself."

"A man may be proud of a great achievement but not of his inherent nature."

"The desire to show one's superiority is natural to mankind."

"In matters of fact, experience is the only guide."

"Prudence is the virtue that comes from experience."

"The future is merely the past entered through another gate."

"Anger is but one short madness."

"The sovereign is the public soul, giving life and motion to the commonwealth."

"Hope is but expectation of the future from the errors of the past."

"A man's legacy is the difference he makes in the lives of others."

"The equality of reward for unequal merit breeds discontent."

"All competition and every kind of contest must needs turn into hostility."

"The greatest wealth is a peaceful mind."

"Through hard labor and discipline, a man becomes master of his passions."

"The secret of success is to do the common thing uncommonly well."

"Truth is the criterion of itself and of falsehood."

"The pursuit of knowledge is the pursuit of power over nature."

"Whoever sets himself above the law places himself below justice."

"The mind is its own place and can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven."

"Society without authority is merely anarchy with better manners."

"The greatest pleasure arises from the contemplation of truth."

"Fear is the passion which makes us believe in anything for safety."