To many people virtue consists chiefly in repenting faults, not in avoiding them.

In every man there is something of all men.

There is no more important rule of conduct in the world than this: attach yourself as much as you can to people who are abler than you and yet not so very different that you cannot understand them.

When an acquaintance goes by I often step back from my window, not so much to spare him the effort of acknowledging me as to spare myself the embarrassment of seeing that he has not done so.

The human tendency to regard little things as important has produced very many great things.

Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc., at times before they're worn out and times - and this is the worst of all - before we have new ones.

One should never trust a person who, while assuring you of something, puts his hands on his heart.