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.

Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.

The moral system of the universe is like a document written in alternate ciphers, which change from line to line.

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.

Every one of us ... knows better than he practices, and recognizes a better law than he obeys.

Human improvement is from within outward.

Ignorance is the dominion of absurdity.