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.

Men think to mend their condition by a change of circumstances. They might as well hope to escape from their shadows.

Science rests on reason and experiment, and can meet an opponent with calmness; [but] a creed is always sensitive.

The best that we can do for one another is to exchange our thoughts freely; and that, after all, is about all.

I have long been convinced that the Christian Eucharist is but a continuation of the Eleusinian mysteries. St Paul, in using the word teleiois, almost confirms this.

Truth only smells sweet forever, and illusions, however innocent, are deadly as the canker worm.

There is always a part of our being into which those who are dearer to us far than our own lives are yet unable to enter.