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

I was not designed to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.

Books are to be distinguished by the grandeur of their topics even more than by the manner in which they are treated.

It is not easy to make our lives respectable by any course of activity. We must repeatedly withdraw into our shells of thought, like the tortoise, somewhat helplessly; yet there is more than philosophy in that.

Is the babe young? When I behold it, it seems more venerable than the oldest man.

We are the subjects of an experiment which is not a little interesting to me.

I wish to learn what life has to teach, and not, when I come to die, discover that I have not truly lived.