A man is arrogant in proportion to his ignorance. Man's natural tendency is to egotism. Man, in his infancy of knowledge, thinks that all creation was formed for him.

There is no tongue that flatters like a lover's; and yet, in the exaggeration of his feelings, flattery seems to him commonplace. Strange and prodigal exuberance, which soon exhausts itself by flowing!

Nine times out of ten it is over the Bridge of Sighs that we pass the narrow gulf from youth to manhood. That interval is usually marked by an ill placed or disappointed affection. We recover and we find ourselves a new being. The intellect has become hardened by the fire through which it has passed. The mind profits by the wrecks of every passion, and we may measure our road to wisdom by the sorrows we have undergone.

He who writes prose builds his temple to Fame in rubble; he who writes verses builds it in granite.

The desire of excellence is the necessary attribute of those who excel. We work little for a thing unless we wish for it.

To find what you seek in the road of life, the best proverb of all is that which says: Leave no stone unturned.

Toil to some is happiness, and rest to others. This man can only breathe in crowds, and that man only in solitudes.