I could lecture on dry oak leaves; I could, but who would hear me? If I were to try it on any large audience, I fear it would be no gain to them, and a positive loss to me. I should have behaved rudely toward my rustling friends.

As the least drop of wine tinges the whole goblet, so the least particle of truth colors our whole life.

The flowers of the apple are perhaps the most beautiful of any tree's, so copious and so delicious to both sight and scent.

The wonderful purity of nature at this season is a most pleasing fact.... In the bare fields and tinkling woods, see what virtue survives. In the coldest and bleakest places, the warmest charities still maintain a foothold.

All endeavour calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil.

We do not learn much from learned books, but from true, sincere, human books, from frank and honest biographies.

Simplify your life. Don't waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant. Don't burden yourself with possessions. Keep your needs and wants simple and enjoy what you have. Don't destroy your peace of mind by looking back, worrying about the past. Live in the present. Simplify!