William Penn

Excess in Apparel is another costly Folly. The very Trimming of the vain World would cloath all the naked one.

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.

We meet on the broad pathway of good faith and good will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. I will not call you children, — for parents sometimes chide their children too severely; nor brothers only, — for brothers differ. The friendship between me and you I will not compare to a chain; for that the rains might rust, or the falling tree might break. We are the same as if one man’s body were to be divided into two parts, we are all one flesh and blood.

He that lives to forever, never fears dying.

Equivocation is half-way to lying, and lying the whole way to hell.

If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God; and to do that, thou must be ruled by him who has given to kings his grace to command themselves and their subjects, and to the people the grace to obey God and their kings.

Concentration is the secret of strength in politics, in war, in trade, in short, in all the management of human affairs.

When you adopt the standards and the values of someone else… you surrender your own integrity. You become, to the extent of your surrender, less of a human being.

I have always considered it as treason against the great republic of human nature, to make any man’s virtues the means of deceiving him.

In every society some men are born to rule, and some to advise.

There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.

How earthy old people become moldy as the grave! Their wisdom smacks of the earth. There is no foretaste of immortality in it. They remind me of earthworms and mole crickets.

Be confident, not certain

I could never be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Respect the child. Be not too much his parent. Trespass not on his solitude.

Loyalty is still the same, whether it win or lose the game; true as a dial to the sun, although it be not shined upon.

Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.

Practice makes perfect, and nobody’s perfect, so why practice?

I am easily satisfied with the very best.

Remember, when life’s path is steep, to keep your mind even.