Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.

Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.

Ability is a poor man's wealth.

Ability is a poor man's wealth.

Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can.

Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can.

Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.

Anything you're good at contributes to happiness.

You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.

You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.

It is all one to me if a man comes from Sing Sing or Harvard. We hire a man, not read more

It is all one to me if a man comes from Sing Sing or Harvard. We hire a man, not his history.

Men are often capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, read more

Men are often capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, and seldom draw to their full extent.

One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance
of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no read more

One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance
of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no efficacy.
[Lat., Illud tamen in primis testandum est, nihil praecepta atque
artes valere nisi adjuvante natura.]

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.