There is a world of science necessary in choosing books. I have known some people in great sorrow fly to a novel, or the last light book in fashion. One might as well take a rose-draught for the plague! Light reading does not do when the heart is really heavy. I am told that Goethe, when he lost his son, took to study a science that was new to him. Ah! Goethe was a physician who knew what he was about.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonNo author ever drew a character consistent to human nature, but he was forced to ascribe to it many inconsistencies.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonIf you are in doubt whether to write a letter or not, don't. And the advice applies to many doubts in life besides that of letter writing.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonThere are times when the mirth of others only saddens us, especially the mirth of children with high spirits, that jar on our own quiet mood.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonOf all the weaknesses little men rail against, there is none that they are more apt to ridicule than the tendency to believe. And of all the signs of a corrupt heart and a feeble head, the tendency of incredulity is the surest. Real philosophy seeks rather to solve than to deny.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton