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.

There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still.

I would give all the wealth of the world, and all the deeds of all the heroes, for one true vision.

Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free.

The tavern will compare favorably with the church. The church is the place where prayers and sermons are delivered, but the tavernis where they are to take effect, and if the former are good, the latter cannot be bad.

It is not all books that are as dull as their readers.

In all perception of the truth there is a divine ecstasy, an inexpressible delirium of joy, as when a youth embraces his betrothed virgin.