He who serves the public is a poor animal; he worries himself to death and no one thanks him for it.

God made man simple, but how he changed and got complicated is hard to say.

Thank God when He lays a burden on thee, and thank Him when He takes it off.

The flowers of life are but visionary. How many pass away and leave no trace behind! How few yield any fruit,--and the fruit itself, how rarely does it ripen! And yet there are flowers enough; and is it not strange, my friend, that we should suffer the little that does really ripen to rot, decay, and perish unenjoyed?

Nothing is more odious than the majority, for it consists of a few powerful leaders, a certain number of accommodating scoundrels and submissive weaklings, and a mass of men who trot after them without thinking, or knowing their own minds.

There is a politeness of the heart; this is closely allied to love.

Happy the man who early learns the wide chasm that lies between his wishes and his powers.