The very dogs that sullenly bay the moon from farm-yards in these nights excite more heroism in our breasts than all the civil exhortations or war sermons of the age.

People seldom hit what they do not aim at.

Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice.

At present our only true names are nicknames.

It is desirable that a man be clad so simply that he can lay his hands on himself in the dark, and that he live in all respects so compactly and preparedly, that, if an enemy take the town, he can, like the old philosopher, walk out the gate empty-handed without anxiety.

Nature is mythical and mystical always, and works with the license and extravagance of genius. She has her luxurious and florid style as well as art.

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.