I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.

There is nothing I fear so much as idleness, the want of occupation, inactivity, the lethargy of the faculties; when the body is idle, the spirit suffers painfully.

Jane, I never meant to wound you thus...Will you ever forgive me?" Reader, I forgave him at the moment and on the spot.

On the contrary, I'm a universal patriot, if you could understand me rightly: my country is the world.

When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should - so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.

Wise people say it is folly to think anybody perfect; and as to likes and dislikes, we should be friendly to all, and worship none

The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master - something that, at times, strangely wills and works for itself.