A man of talent will strive for money and reputation; but the spring that moves genius to the production of its works is not as easy to name

In action a great heart is the chief qualification. In work, a great head.

To be alone is the fate of all great minds—a fate deplored at times, but still always chosen as the less grievous of two evils.

This world could not have been the work of an all-loving being, but that of a devil, who had brought creatures into existence in order to delight in the sight of their sufferings.

Honor has not to be won; it must only not be lost.

The scenes and events of long ago, and the persons who took part in them, wear a charming aspect to the eye of memory, which sees only the outlines and takes no note of disagreeable details. The present enjoys no such advantage, and so it always seems defective.

A major difficulty in translation is that a word in one language seldom has a precise equivalent in another one.