Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts.

The study of history, it seems to me, leads to the conviction that all important events tend toward the same end - the civilization of mankind.

The language of religion can alone suit every situation and every mode of feeling.

The most beautiful landscapes in the world, if they evoke no memory, if they bear no trace of a remarkable event, are uninteresting compared to historic landscapes.

Anything that happens gradually is always irrevocable.

Only the refined and delicate pleasures that spring from research and education can build up barriers between different ranks.

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.