The scenes of our life are like pictures done in rough mosaic. Looked at close, they produce no effect. There is nothing beautiful to be found in them, unless you stand some distance off.

Writers may be classified as meteors, planets, and fixed stars.

What a man is: that is to say, personality, in the widest sense of the word; under which are included health, strength, beauty, temperament, moral character, intelligence, and education.

Hope is the confusion of the desire for a thing with its probability.

Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else.

Pleasure is never as pleasant as we expected it to be and pain is always more painful. The pain in the world always outweighs the pleasure. If you don't believe it, compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is eating the other.

Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.