We are ashamed to seem evasive in the presence of a straightforward man, cowardly in the presence of a brave one, gross in the eyes of a refined one, and so on. We always imagine, and in imagining share, the judgments of the other mind.
The mind is not a hermit's cell, but a place of hospitality and intercourse.
The bashful are always aggressive at heart.
A talent somewhat above mediocrity, shrewd and not too sensitive, is more likely to rise in the world than genius.
When one ceases from conflict, whether because he has won, because he has lost, or because he cares no more for the game, the virtue passes out of him.
A man may lack everything but tact and conviction and still be a forcible speaker; but without these nothing will avail... Fluency, grace, logical order, and the like, are merely the decorative surface of oratory.
As social beings we live with our eyes upon our reflection, but have no assurance of the tranquillity of the waters in which we see it.
Each man must have his I; it is more necessary to him than bread; and if he does not find scope for it within the existing institutions he will be likely to make trouble.
The general fact is that the most effective way of utilizing human energy is through an organized rivalry, which by specialization and social control is, at the same time, organized co-operation.
There is hardly any one so insignificant that he does not seem imposing to some one at some time.
The imaginations which people have of one another are the solid facts of society.
One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.
