One ought, everyday, to hear a song, read a fine poem, and, if possible, to speak a few reasonable words.

Art is a mediator of the unspeakable.

When I make a mistake everyone can see it, but not when I lie.

Piety, like nobility, has its aristocracy.

Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which is above us; for by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and, by our very acknowledgment, prove that we bear within ourselves what is higher, and are worthy to be on a level with it.

Wood burns because it has the proper stuff for that purpose in it; and a man becomes renowned because he has the necessary stuff in him. Renown is not to be sought, and all pursuit of it is vain. A person may, indeed, by skillful conduct and various artificial means, make a sort of name for himself; but if the inner jewel is wanting, all is vanity, and will not last a day.

We always hope, and in all things it is better to hope than to despair.