Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform – (or pause and reflect).
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be entreated not to hit the nail at all.[Wer es nicht versteht, den Nagel auf den Kopf zu treffen, soll ja gebeten sein, ihn gar nicht zu treffen.]
When the head aches, all the members partake of the pain.[translation by John Willis Clark]When the head suffers all the members suffer.[translation by John Ormsby][Que cuando la cabeza duele, todos los miembros duelen.]
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
Fools talk, cowards are silent, wise men listen.
Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.
You can never know everything, and part of what you know is always wrong. Perhaps even the most important part. A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that. A portion of courage lies in going on anyway.
Wise men have interpreted dreams, and the gods have laughed.
Most things break, including hearts. The lessons of life amount not to wisdom, but to scar tissue and callus.
Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest, Lend less than thou owest, Ride more than thou goest, Learn more than thou trowest, Set less than thou throwest.
You get tragedy where the tree, instead of bending, breaks.[Die Tragödie besteht darin, daß sich der Baum nicht biegt, sondern bricht.]
