A true poem is distinguished not so much by a felicitous expression, or any thought it suggests, as by the atmosphere which surrounds it. Most have beauty of outline merely, and are striking as the form and bearing of a stranger; but true verses come toward us indistinctly, as the very breath of all friendliness, and envelop us in their spirit and fragrance.

I have always endeavored to acquire strict business habits; they are indispensable to every man. If your trade is with the Celestial Empire, then some small counting house on the coast, in some Salem harbor, will be fixture enough.

The very thrills of genius are disorganizing. The body is never quite acclimated to its atmosphere, but how often, succumbs and goes into a decline.

Nature is as well adapted to our weakness as to our strength.

The man who takes the liberty to live is superior to all the laws, by virtue of his relation to the lawmaker.

Morning work! By the blushes of Aurora and the music of Memnon, what should be man's morning work in this world?

It is the stars as not yet known to science that I would know, the stars which the lonely traveler knows.