James Stephens

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.

Let the past be content with itself, for man needs forgetfulness as well as memory.

To ask questions can become the laziest and wobbliest occupation of a mind, but when you must yourself answer the problem that you have posed, you will meditate your question with care and frame it with precision.

We get wise by asking questions, and even if these are not answered, we get wise, for a well-packed question carries its answer on its back as a snail carries its shell.

The trouble of the king becomes the trouble of the subject, for how shall we live if judgement is withheld, or if faulty decisions are promulgated?

Quietness is the beginning of virtue. To be silent is to be beautiful. Stars do not make a noise.

A Leprecaun without a pot of gold is like a rose without perfume, a bird without a wing, or an inside without an outside.

Women and birds are able to see without turning their heads, and that is indeed a necessary provision for they are both surrounded by enemies.

When a woman speaks to a man about the love she feels for another man, she is not liked.

A secret is a weapon and a friend.

Life runs to death as its goal, and we should go towards that next stage of experience either carelessly as to what must be, or with a good, honest curiosity as to what may be.

To understand the theory which underlies all things is not sufficient. Theory is but the preparation for practice.