The love of dirt is among the earliest of passions, as it is the latest. Mud-pies gratify one of our first and best instincts. So long as we are dirty, we are pure. Fondness for the ground comes back to a man after he has run the round of pleasure and business, eaten dirt, and sown wild oats, drifted about the world, and taken the wind of all its moods. The love of digging in the ground (or of looking on while he pays another to dig) is as sure to come back to him, as he is sure, at last, to go under the ground, and stay there.

A cynic might suggest as the motto of modern life this simple legend-"just as good as the real.

I am convinced that the majority of people would be generous from selfish motives, if they had the opportunity.

Memory has the singular characteristic of recalling in a friend absent, as in a journey long past, only that which is agreeable.

The tenure of a literary reputation is the most uncertain and fluctuating of all.

One of the advantages of pure congregational singing is that you can join in the singing whether you have a voice or not. The disadvantage is that your neighbor can do the same.

The stranger who receives the rare gift of human kindness holds its value in his heart forever.