Self-denial does not belong to religion as characteristic of it; it belongs to human life; the lower nature must always be denied when you are trying to rise to a higher sphere.

The thistle is a prince. Let any man that has an eye for beauty take a view of the whole plant, and where will he see a more expressive grace and symmetry; and where is there a more kingly flower?

What a pity flowers can utter no sound!-A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle ... oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!

A man that does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good.

Our best successes often come after our greatest disappointments.

Anxiety in human life is what squeaking and grinding are in machinery that is not oiled. In life, trust is the oil.

The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never excuses himself.