To gain anything we have longed for is only to discover how vain and empty it is; and even though we are always living in expectation of better things, at the same time we often repent and long to have the past back again.

I believe that when death closes our eyes we shall awaken to a light, of which our sunlight is but the shadow.

There are 80,000 prostitutes in London alone and what are they, if not bloody sacrifices on the altar of monogamy?

To free a man from error is to give, not to take away. Knowledge that a thing is false is a truth. Error always does harm; sooner or later it will bring mischief to the man who harbors it.

alent is like the marksman who hits a target which others cannot reach; genius is like the marksman who hits a target, as far as which others cannot even see.

The young should early be trained to bear being left alone; for it is a source of happiness and peace of mind.

One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind. In order to read what is good one must make it a condition never to read what is bad; for life is short, and both time and strength limited.