To be loved for what one is, that is the greatest exception. The great majority love in others only what they lend him; their own selves, their version of him.

A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world's torrent.

A vain man can never be utterly ruthless: he wants to win applause and therefore he accommodates himself to others

I always seek the good that is in people and leave the bad to Him who made mankind and knows how to round off the corners.

Culture which smooth the whole world licks, Also unto the devil sticks.

All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.

Men are so inclined to content themselves with what is commonest; the spirit and the senses so easily grow dead to the impressions of the beautiful and perfect, that every one should study, by all methods, to nourish in his mind the faculty of feeling these things. ...For this reason, one ought every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.