Trench says a wild man is a willed man. Well, then, a man of will who does what he wills or wishes, a man of hope and of the future tense, for not only the obstinate is willed, but far more the constant and persevering. The obstinate man, properly speaking, is one who will not. The perseverance of the saints is positive willedness, not a mere passive willingness. The fates are wild, for they will; and the Almighty is wild above all, as fate is.

A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.

There never was and is not likely soon to be a nation of philosophers, nor am I certain it is desirable that there should be.

For more than five years I maintained myself thus solely by the labour of my hands, and I found, that by working about six weeks in a year, I could meet all the expenses of living.

Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing.

The secret of achievement is to hold a picture of a successful outcome in mind.

But the divinest poem, or the life of a great man, is the severest satire.... The greater the genius, the keener the edge of the satire.