Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out".

Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings.

I saw him open his mouth wide. . . as though he had wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, all the men before him.

In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk of spoiling its bloom, especially if it has got to be carried into the market.

The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil water-way leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky--seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.

All a man can betray is his conscience.

It is respectable to have no illusions, and safe, and profitable and dull.