I had rather believe all the Fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a Mind.

They who derive their worth from their ancestors resemble potatoes, the most valuable part of which is underground.

There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying.

A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.

Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; adversity not without many comforts and hopes.

We must see whether the same clock with weights will go faster at the top of a mountain or at the bottom of a mine; it is probable, if the pull of the weights decreases on the mountain and increases in the mine, that the earth has real attraction.

I'm working for myself; what else have I got to work for? How can you work for an audience? What do you imagine an audience would want? I have got nobody to excite except myself, so I am always surprised if anyone likes my work sometimes. I suppose I'm very lucky, of course, to be able to earn my living by something that really absorbs me to try to do, if that is what you call luck.