A stated truth loses its grace, but a repeated error appears insipid and ridiculous.

As for solitude, I cannot understand how certain people seek to lay claim to intellectual stature, nobility of soul and strength of character, yet have not the slightest feeling for seclusion; for solitude, I maintain, when joined with a quiet contemplation of nature, a serene and conscious faith in creation and the Creator, and a few vexations from outside is the only school for a mind of lofty endowment.

Solitude is fine when you are at peace with yourself and have something definite to do.

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.

A vain man can never be altogether rude. Desirous as he is of pleasing, he fashions his manners after those of others.

The miller imagines that the corn grows only to make his mill turn.

Reason can never be popular. Passions and feelings may become popular, but reason will always remain the sole property of a few eminent individuals.