“The world," he resumed after a short pause, "has no faith in any man's conversion; it never forgets what he was, it never believes him anything better, it is an inexorable and stupid judge.”
“I have never known courage to be judged by the length of a man's hair. Or, for the matter of that, whether he has any hair at all.”
“I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never loved any one. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, just like you: 'I am busy with matters of consequence!' And that makes him swell up with pride. But he is not a man - he is a mushroom!”
“I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.”
“A humble person never believes he knows everything or has done everything, and that's what keeps him working hard. He believes there is always more he can learn, that he can always do a better job next time, and that hard work is just part of getting better.”
“but heavens! how that man could talk! He electrified large meetings. He had faith—don't you see?—he had the faith. He could get himself to believe anything—anything. He would have been a splendid “leader of an extreme party.' 'What party?' I asked. 'Any party,' answered the other. 'He was an—an—extremist.”