"The rarest things in the world, next to a spirit of discernment, are diamonds and pearls." ― Jean de la Bruyere "A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a witty person, but a pebble in the hands of a fool." ― Anonymous "Manners must adorn knowledge and smooth its way in the world; without them it is like a great rough diamond, very well in a closet by way of curiosity, and also for its intrinsic value; but most prized when polished." ― Lord Chesterfield "Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson "I have always felt a gift diamond shines so much better than the one you buy for yourself." ― Anonymous "There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self." ― Benjamin Franklin "Perhaps time's definition of coal is the diamond." ― Kahlil Gibran "Proverbs are mental gems gathered in the diamond districts of the mind." ― William R. Alger "When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure." ― Peter Marshall "If wisdom and diamonds grew on the same tree we could soon tell how much men loved wisdom." ― Lemuel K. Washburn "The questions are diamonds you hold in the light. Study a lifetime and you see different colors from the same jewel. The same questions, asked again, bring you just the answers you need just the minute you need them." ― Richard Bach "Many individuals have, like uncut diamonds, shining qualities beneath a rough exterior." ― Juvenal "Do not judge from mere appearances; for the lift laughter that bubbles on the lip often mantles over the depths of sadness, and the serious look may be the sober veil that covers a divine peace and joy. The bosom can ache beneath diamond brooches; and many a blithe heart dances under coarse wool." ― Edwin Hubbel Chapin "Diamonds are only chunks of coal, that stuck to their jobs, you see." ― Minnie Richard Smith "There are many sham diamonds in this life which pass for real, and vice versa." ― William Makepeace Thackeray "The most precious jewels are not made of stone, but of flesh." ― Robert Ludlum "Diamonds are a girl's best friend and a man's worst enemy." ― Anonymous "The story of Harold Ross, the New Yorker and me is a mere footnote to the story of our time, and we might as well face the truth that to researchers of the future, poking about among the ruins of time, we shall all be tiny glitters. But then, so are diamonds." ― James Thurber "I really think that American gentlemen are the best after all, because kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and a sapphire bracelet lasts forever." ― Anita Loos "Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough." ― Mary McLeod Bethune "A pebble and a diamond are alike to a blind man." ― Anonymous "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without." ― A Chinese proverb "Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with." ― Thomas Carlyle "Let us not be too particular. It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all." ― Mark Twain "I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond." ― Mae West "This diamond has so many carats it's almost a turnip." ― Richard Burton "The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear." ― Daniel Defoe "The hues of the opal, the light of the diamond, are not to be seen if the eye is too near." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson "Better to be a strong man with a weak point, than to be a weak man without a strong point. A diamond with a flaw is more valuable than a brick without a flaw." ― William J. H. Boetcker "No gold-digging for me; I take diamonds! We may be off the gold standard someday." ― Mae West "For me the diamond dawns are set In rings of beauty, And all my ways are dewy wet With pleasant duty." ― John Townsend Trowbridge