The whole truth is generally the ally of virtue; a half-truth is always the ally of some vice.

One pleasure attached to growing older is that many things seem to be growing younger; growing fresher and more lively than we once supposed them to be.

Gratitude, being nearly the greatest of human duties, is also nearly the most difficult.

Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls; but they are the walls of a playground.

Whether a man chooses to tell the truth in long sentences or short jokes is a problem analogous to whether he chooses to tell the truth in French or in German.

The central idea of poetry is the idea of guessing right, like a child.

All science, even the divine science, is a sublime detective story. Only it is not set to detect why a man is dead; but the darker secret of why he is alive.