A large portion of human beings live not so much in themselves as in what they desire to be. They create what is called an ideal character, in an ideal form, whose perfections compensate in some degree for the imperfections of their own.

What does competency in the long run mean? It means to all reasonable beings, cleanliness of person, decency of dress, courtesy of manners, opportunities for education, the delights of leisure, and the bliss of giving.

Humor, warm and all-embracing as the sunshine, bathes its objects in a genial and abiding light.

There is a serious and resolute egotism that makes a man interesting to his friends and formidable to his opponents.

An epigram often flashes light into regions where reason shines but dimly.

Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.

The bitterest satires and noblest eulogies on married life have come from poets.