All a man can betray is his conscience.

Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.

Yet, when one thinks of it, diplomacy without force is a but a rotten reed to lean upon.

There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.

You can't, in sound morals, condemn a man for taking care of his own integrity. It is his clear duty.

The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! I've never seen anything so unreal in my life. And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion.

I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality