A reproach can only hurt if it hits the mark. Whoever knows that he does not deserve a reproach can treat it with contempt.

Freedom of the press is to the machinery of the state what the safety valve is to the steam engine.

What people commonly call fate is mostly their own stupidity.

Men best show their character in trifles, where they are not on their guard. It is in the simplest habits, that we often see the boundless egotism which pays no regard to the feelings of others and denies nothing to itself.

You can do what you will, but in any given moment of your life you can will only one definite thing and absolutely nothing other than that one thing.

I've never known any trouble than an hour's reading didn't assuage.

Great minds are related to the brief span of time during which they live as great buildings are to a little square in which they stand: you cannot see them in all their magnitude because you are standing too close to them.