Of all the ills that our poor ... society is heir to, the focal one, it seems to me, from which so much of our uneasiness and confusion derive, is the absence of standards.

An essential element for good writing is a good ear: One must listen to the sound of one's own prose.

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.

Strong prejudices in an ill-formed mind are hazardous to government, and when combined with a position of power even more so.

To a historian libraries are food, shelter, and even muse.

War is the unfolding of miscalculations.

The power to command frequently causes failure to think.