Nature is mighty. Art is mighty. Artifice is weak. For nature is the work of a mightier power than man. Art is the work of man under the guidance and inspiration of a mightier power. Artifice is the work of mere man, in the imbecility of his mimic understanding.

When we skim along the surface of history we see little but the rough barren rocks that rise out of it.

Many men spend their lives in gazing at their own shadows, and so dwindle away into shadows thereof.

In science its main worth is temporary, as a stepping-stone to something beyond. Even [Newton's] Principia ... is truly but the beginning of a natural philosophy. Co-author with his brother Julius Hare.

I was surprised just now at seeing a cobweb around a knocker; for it was not on the door of heaven.

There are men whom you will never dislodge from an opinion, except by taking possession of it yourself.

Philosophy cannot raise the commonalty up to her level: so, if she is to become popular, she must sink to theirs.