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There is danger in reckless change; but greater danger in blind conservatism. Don't give advice unless you're asked. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. The world, like an accomplished hostess, pays most attention to those whom it will soonest forget. I was the best man at the wedding. So why is she marrying him? In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends. No man ever understands quite his own artful dodges to escape from the grim shadow of self-knowledge. For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned, it is the season of the harvest. I find my joy of living in the fierce and ruthless battles of life. We do not wish ardently for what we desire only through reason. "Safety first" has been the motto of the human race for half a million years; but it has never been the motto of leaders. Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is. Nothing at all will be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing. The present is the living sum-total of the whole past. I am for freedom of religion and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another. Forget the past and live the present hour. Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for movie stars. Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing. Whoever has his foe at his mercy, and does not kill him, is his own enemy.
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