Genius is nothing more than common faculties refined to a greater intensity. There are no astonishing ways of doing astonishing things. All astonishing things are done by ordinary materials.

Do your duty, and don't swerve from it. Do that which your conscience tells you to be right, and leave the consequences to God.

All government is an evil, but, of the two form's of that evil, democracy or monarchy, the sounder is monarchy; the more able to do its will, democracy.

Newton's health, and confusion to mathematics.

How difficult it is to get men to believe that any other man can or does act from disinterestedness!

Danger is the very basis of superstition. It produces a searching after help supernaturally when human means are no longer supposed to be available.

When a man is no longer anxious to do better than well, he is done for.