"It is a unyielding truth that when you master your attention, you master your entire perception of reality."

"Serenity begins the moment you cease demanding that the external world conform — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Nothing is more fearful than imagination without taste."

"Music is either sacred or secular. The sacred agrees with its dignity, and here has its greatest effect on life, an effect that remains the same through all ages and epochs. Secular music should be cheerful throughout."

"Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others."

"When ambition meets humility, we find that the simplest acts of love resonate the loudest."

"Men often pass from love to ambition, but they seldom come back again from ambition to love."

"When ambition meets humility, we find that every ending is merely a new beginning in disguise."