William Penn

Knowledge is the treasure of a wise man.

Unless virtue guides us our choice must be wrong.

In all debates let truth be thy aim not victory or an unjust interest.

The smaller the drink, the clearer the head, and the cooler the blood.

Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.

If thou wouldn't conquer thy weakness thou must not gratify it.

Let the people think they govern and they will be governed.

Make few resolutions, but keep them strictly.

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

He that does good for good's sake seeks neither paradise nor reward, but he is sure of both in the end.

The tallest Trees are most in the Power of the Winds, and Ambitious Men of the Blasts of Fortune.

Hasty resolutions are of the nature of vows, and to be equally avoided.

Only trust thyself, and another shall not betray thee.

Knowledge is the treasure, but judgment is the treasurer of a wise man.

Every stroke our fury strikes is sure to hit ourselves at last.

The country life is to be preferred for there we see the works of God but in cities little else but the works of men. And the one makes a better subject for contemplation than the other.

The jealous are troublesome to others but torment to themselves.

Force may subdue, but love gains, and he that forgives first wins the laurel.

No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.

Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.

A reasonable opinion must ever be in danger where reason is not judge.

No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.

They have a right to censure that have a heart to help.

A good End cannot sanctify evil Means; nor must we ever do Evil, that Good may come of it.

True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.

In marriage do thou be wise: prefer the person before money, virtue before beauty, the mind before the body; then thou hast a wife, a friend, a companion, a second self.

Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments of its opposers.

To be a man's own fool is bad enough, but the vain man is everybody's.

If there is any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do to any fellow being let me do it now and not deter or neglect it as I shall not pass this way again.

Only trust thyself and another shall not betray thee.

Patience and Diligence, like faith, remove mountains.

It would be far better to be of no church than to be bitter of any.

Rarely promise. But, if lawful, constantly perform.

Much reading is an oppression of the mind, and extinguishes the natural candle, which is the reason of so many senseless scholars in the world.

He who is taught to live upon little owes more to his father's wisdom than he who has a great deal left him does to his father's care.

Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire.

Less judgment than wit is more sail than ballast.

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.

Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.

No pain no palm no thorns no throne no gall no glory no cross no crown.

Nothing does reason more right than the coolness of those that offer it For Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers.

A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.

Love is the hardest lesson in Christianity; but, for that reason, it should be most our care to learn it.

They that soar too high, often fall hard.

The truest end of life is to know that life never ends.

Show is not substance; realities govern wise men.

Force may make hypocrites, but it can never make converts.

Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.

Love grows. Lust wastes by Enjoyment, and the Reason is, that one springs from an Union of Souls, and the other from an Union of Sense.

To be like Christ is to be a Christian.

Between a man and his wife nothing ought to rule but love. Authority is for children and servants, yet not without sweetness.

Naked truth needs no shift.

Friendship is the union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond thereof virtue.

Hasty resolutions are of the nature of vows, and to be equally avoided.

Some are so very studious of learning what was done by the ancients that they know not how to live with the moderns.

People are more afraid of the laws of Man than of God, because their punishment seems to be nearest.

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst.

Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit.

Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.

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

The truest end of life is to know the life that never ends.

Rarely promise, but, if lawful, constantly perform.

The more merciful acts thou dost, the more mercy thou wilt receive.

The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.

Passion is a sort of fever in the mind, which ever leaves us weaker than it found us.

Kings in this world should imitate God, their mercy should be above their works.

A private Life is to be preferred; the Honor and Gain of public Posts, bearing no proportion with the Comfort of it.

O Lord, help me not to despise or oppose what I do not understand.

We are apt to love praise, but not deserve it. But if we would deserve it, we must love virtue more than that.

Passion is the mob of the man, that commits a riot upon his reason.

Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants.

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

He that lives to live forever, never fears dying.

Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.

There is a truth and beauty in rhetoric; but it oftener serves ill turns than good ones.

Nothing does reason more right, than the coolness of those that offer it: For Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders, than from the arguments of its opposers.