This was sheer idleness to my fellow-townsmen, no doubt; but if the birds and flowers had tried me by their standard, I should not have been found wanting. A man must find his occasions in himself, it is true. The natural day is very calm, and will hardly reprove his indolence.

One is wise to cultivate the tree that bears fruit in our soul.

I have an immense appetite for solitude, like an infant for sleep, and if I don't get enough for this year, I shall cry all the next.

I learned to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of nature, rather than a member of society.

Morning work! By the blushes of Aurora and the music of Memnon, what should be man's morning work in this world?

Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.

I lose my respect for the man who can make the mystery of sex the subject of a coarse jest, yet when you speak earnestly and seriously on the subject, is silent.