The theater, for all its artifices, depicts life in a sense more truly than history.

The body is an instrument, the mind its function, the witness and reward of its operation.

There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor.

The soul, too has her virginity and must bleed a little before bearing fruit.

It would repel me less to be a hangman than a soldier, because the one is obliged to put to death only criminals sentenced by the law, but the other kills honest men who like himself bathe in innocent blood at the bidding of some superior.

There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far.

The Universe, so far as we can observe it, is a wonderful and immense engine; its extent, its order, its beauty, its cruelty, makes it alike impressive.