Drudgery is as necessary to call out the treasures of the mind, as harrowing and planting those of the earth.

Every fact is impure, but every fact contains in it the juices of life. Every fact is a clod, from which may grow an amaranth or a palm.

I know of no inquiry which the impulses of man suggests that is forbidden to the resolution of man to pursue.

If anything can be invented more excruciating than an English Opera, such as was the fashion at the time I was in London, I am sure no sin of mine deserves the punishment of bearing it.

... the Power who gave a power, by its mere existence, signifies that it must be brought out towards perfection.

Union is only possible to those who are units. To be fit for relations in time, souls, whether of man or woman, must be able to do without them in the spirit.

The critic is beneath the maker, but is his needed friend. The critic is not a base caviler, but the younger brother of genius. Next to invention is the power of interpreting invention; next to beauty the power of appreciating beauty. And of making others appreciate it.