We saw men haying far off in the meadow, their heads waving like the grass which they cut. In the distance the wind seemed to bend all alike.

If a man is rich and strong anywhere, it must be on his native soil. Here I have been these forty years learning the language of these fields that I may the better express myself. If I should travel to the prairies, I should much less understand them, and my past life would serve me but ill to describe them. Many a weed here stands for more of life to me than the big trees of California would if I should go there. We need only travel enough to give our intellects an airing.

There are various, nay, incredible faiths; why should we be alarmed at any of them? What man believes, God believes.

Cultivate the habit of early rising. It is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet.

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice.

You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind.

The perception of beauty is a moral test.