Will localizes us, thought universalizes us.

Time is but the measure of the difficulty of a conception. Pure thought has scarcely any need of time, since it perceives the two ends of an idea almost at the same moment.

Righteous ends, thus approved, absolve of guilt the most violent means.

Nothing is more characteristic of a man than the manner in which he behaves toward fools.

Before giving advice we must have secured its acceptance, or, rather, have made it desired.

Common sense is calculation applied to life.

Criticism is above all a gift, an intuition, a matter of tact and flair; it cannot be taught or demonstrated--it is an art. Critical genius means an aptitude for discerning truth under appearances or in disguises which conceal it; for discovering it in spite of the errors of testimony, the frauds of tradition, the dust of time, the loss or alteration of texts. It is the sagacity of the hunter whom nothing deceives for long, and whom no ruse can throw off the trail.