Mastery is often taken for egotism.

The greatest happiness for the thinking person is to have explored the explorable and to venerate in equanimity that which cannotbe explored.

Words express neither objects nor ourselves.

The people who are absent are the ideal; those who are present seem to be quite commonplace.

The Bible grows more beautiful, as we grow in our understanding of it.

It is commonly the personal character of a writer which gives him his public significance. It is not imparted by his genius. Napoleon said of Corneille, "Were he living I would make him a king;" but he did not read him. He read Racine, yet he said nothing of the kind of Racine.

Great possessions and great want of them are both strong temptations.