John Churton Collins

“If you would be pungent, be brief; for it is with words as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the more they burn.”

“What a man is depends on his character; but what he does, and what we think of what he does, depends on his circumstances.”

“It is only the mediocre who are always at their best.”

“Despair is the conclusion of fools.”

“The crown of all faculties is common sense.”

“Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping.”

“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”

“To profit from good advice requires more wisdom than to give it.”

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.”

“In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.”

“There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.”

“Hold fast to your most bitter memories. That's the only way you can be sure of not repeating them.”