As to London we must console ourselves with the thought that if life outside is less poetic than it was in the days of old, inwardly its poetry is much deeper.

Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for cultivating the historical sense.

The materials of the novelist must be real; they must be gathered from the field of humanity by his actual observation.

There are the manufacturing multitudes of England; they must have work, and find markets for their work; if machines and the Black Country are ugly, famine would be uglier still.

The insular arrogance of the English character is a commonplace joke.

The mighty and supreme Jesus, who was to transfigure all humanity by his divine wit and grace-this Jesus has flown.

Yet for my part, deeply as I am moved by the religious architecture of the Middle Ages, I cannot honestly say that I ever felt the slightest emotion in any modern Gothic church.