The heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. Many a man will live and die upon a dogma; no man will be a martyr for a conclusion.

Courage does not consist in calculation, but in fighting against chances.

Faith is the result of the act of the will, following upon a conviction that to believe is a duty.

Health of body and mind is a great blessing, if we can bear it.

An academical system without the personal influence of teachers on pupils, is an arctic winter; it will create an icebound, petrified, cast-iron University, and nothing else.

Faith is illuminative, not operative; it does not force obedience, though it increases responsibility; it heightens guilt, but it does not prevent sin. The will is the source of action.

Good is never accomplished except at the cost of those who do it, truth never breaks through except through the sacrifice of those who spread it.