The essence of true nobility is neglect of self. Let the thought of self pass in, and the beauty of a great action is gone, like the bloom from a soiled flower.

To tell men that they cannot help themselves is to fling them into recklessness and despair.

The practical effect of a belief is the real test of its soundness.

Men are made by nature unequal. It is vain, therefore, to treat them as if they were equal.

The endurance of the inequalities of life by the poor is the marvel of human society.

If you think you can temper yourself into manliness by sitting here over your books, it is the very silliest fancy that ever tempted a young man to his ruin. You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.

There are epidemics of nobleness as well as epidemics of disease.