Philosophy goes no further than probabilities, and in every assertion keeps a doubt in reserve.

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

In everyday things the law of sacrifice takes the form of positive duty.

That which especially distinguishes a high order of man from a low order of man, that which constitutes human goodness, human nobleness, is surely not the degree of enlightenment with which men pursue their own advantage; but it is self-forgetfulness; it is self-sacrifice; it is the disregard of personal pleasure, personal indulgence, personal advantage, remote or present, because some other line of conduct is more right.

Courage is, on all hands, considered as an essential of high character.

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.

A single seed of fact will produce in a season or two a harvest of calumnies; but sensible men will pay no attention to them.