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.

Genius is essentially creative; it bears the stamp of the individual who possesses it.

Taste is to literature what bon ton is in society.

Unhappy love freezes all our affections: our own souls grow inexplicable to us. More than we gained while we were happy we lose by the reverse.

The sight of such a monument is like continual and stationary music, which one hears for one's good as one approaches it.

It is not enough to forgive; one must forget.

Love is admiring with the heart. And admiring is loving with the mind.