If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future. 

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence.

Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.

The duty of rhetoric is to deal with such matters as we deliberate upon without arts or systems to guide us, in the hearing of persons who cannot take in at a glance a complicated argument or follow a long chain of reasoning.

I came across few whites as a boy at Qunu. The local magistrate, of course, was white, as was the nearest shopkeeper. Occasionally, white travelers or policemen passed through our area. These whites appeared as grand as gods to me, and I was aware that they were to be treated with a mixture of fear and respect.

Some mountains appear when seawater recedes.

There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. 

Facts are many, but the truth is one.

Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.

Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life.