Whatever beauty we behold, the more it is distant, serene, and cold, the purer and more durable it is. It is better to warm ourselves with ice than with fire.

Nature confounds her summer distinctions at this season. The heavens seem to be nearer the earth. The elements are less reserved and distinct. Water turns to ice, rain to snow. The day is but a Scandinavian night. The winter is an arctic summer.

When I think of the gold-diggers and the Mormons, the slaves and the slave-holders and the flibustiers, I naturally dream of a glorious private life. No, I am not patriotic.

In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high.

Fame itself is but an epitaph; as late, as false, as true.

Since most of us spend our lives doing ordinary tasks, the most important thing is to carry them out extraordinarily well.

It is strange to talk of miracles, revelations, inspiration, and the like, as things past, while love remains.