The plea of ignorance will never take away our responsibilities.

Men say their pinnacles point to heaven. Why, so does every tree that buds, and every bird that rises as it sings. Men say their aisles are good for worship. Why, so is every mountain glen and rough sea-shore. But this they have of distinct and indisputable glory,--that their mighty walls were never raised, and never shall be, but by men who love and aid each other in their weakness.

There is no music in a “rest” that I know of, but there's the making of music in it. And people are always missing that part of the life melody.

The fact of our deriving constant pleasure from whatever is a type or semblance of divine attributes, and from nothing but that which is so, is the most glorious of all that can be demonstrated of human nature; it not only sets a great gulf of specific separation between us and the lower animals, but it seems a promise of a communion ultimately deep, close, and conscious, with the Being whose darkened manifestations we here feebly and unthinkingly delight in.

The greatest reward is not what we receive for our labor, but what we become by it.

I believe the first test of a truly great man is in his humility.

Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.