“A fool tries to look different: a clever man looks the same and is different.”

— John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps, 1915

About John Buchan

1875 – 1940

Scottish novelist and statesman, author of "The Thirty-Nine Steps".

“There may be Peace without Joy, and Joy without Peace, but the two combined make Happiness.”

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”

“The Simple Life is the last refuge of complicated and restless souls.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”