"Constant, indiscriminate approval devalues because it is so predictable."

“It's important not to ditch your mates when you're in a relationship. Lots of girls do it, but you need to remember they will always be there for you.”

“The thief or swindler who has gained great wealth by his delinquency has a better chance than the small thief of escaping the rigorous penalty of the law.”

Source : Thorstein Veblen (1993). “A Veblen Treasury: From Leisure Class to War, Peace, and Capitalism”, p.65, M.E. Sharpe

“From my training I can get a good idea of what I'm capable of.”

Source : "Golden girl Paula Radcliffe lowers her sights to the Olympic bronze". Interview with Andy Bull, www.theguardian.com. April 14, 2012.

“Nobody wants a unitary voice of authority any more.”

Source : "Jill Abramson: 'I'm a battle-scarred veteran'". Interview with Ed Pilkington, www.theguardian.com. June 7, 2011.

“If Solomon counts the day of one's death better than the day of one's birth, there can be no objection why that also may not be reckoned amongst one's remarkable and happy days.”

Source : John Aubrey (1857). “Miscellanies Upon Various Subjects”, p.4

“To be great, be whole; Exclude nothing. Be whole in everything.”

“When the entire moral energy of an individual goes into the cultivation of personal integrity, we all know how unlovely the result may become; the character is upright, of course, but too coated over with the result of its own endeavor to be attractive.”

“Duty, though set about by thorns, may still be made a staff supporting even while it tortures. Cast it away, and, like the prophet's wand, it changes to a snake.”