The troublesome ones in a family are usually either the wits or the idiots.

... we all know the wag's definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance.

Only those who know the supremacy of the intellectual life──the life which has a seed of ennobling thought and purpose within──can understand the grief of one who falls from that serene activity into the absorbing soul-wasting struggle with worldly annoyances.

But, bless us, things may be lovable that are not altogether handsome, I hope?

Receptiveness is a rare and massive power, like fortitude.

The very truth hath a colour from the disposition of the utterer.

... when one's outward lot is perfect, the sense of inward imperfection is the more pressing.