a perfect piece of architecture kindles that aimless reverie, which bears the soul we know not whither.

Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike.

We understand death only after it has placed its hands on someone we love.

A religious life is a struggle and not a hymn.

in Italy, almost at every step, history and poetry add to the graces of nature, sweeten the memory of the past, and seem to preserve it in eternal youth.

Whatever efforts one may make, one must revert to the realization that religion is the real basis of morality; religion is the real and perceptible purpose within us, which alone, can turn aside our attention from things. ... The science of morality can no more teach human beings to be honest, in all the magnificence of this word, than geometry can teach one how to draw.

As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.