But to find, all at once, right before your eyes, that the impossible had been mysteriously achieved by man himself: this staggers the mind!

Better to put things at the worst at first and reserve the best for a surprise.

So is man's heart. The desire to perform a work which will endure, which will survive him, is the origin of his superiority over all other living creatures here below. It is this which has established his dominion, and this it is which justifies it, over all the world.

We are of opinion that instead of letting books grow moldy behind an iron grating, far from the vulgar gaze, it is better to let them wear out by being read.

Look with all your eyes, look.

The colonists had no library at their disposal; but the engineer was a book which was always at hand, always open at the page which one wanted, a book which answered all their questions, and which they often consulted.

Steam seems to have killed all gratitude in the hearts of sailors.