The report of my illness grew out of his (James Clemens) illness. The report of my death was an exaggeration.

My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.

It is better to give than receive- especially advice.

There is nothing that saps one's confidence as the knowing how to do a thing

Literature is well enough, as a time-passer, and for the improvement and general elevation and purification of mankind, but it has no practical value.

A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.

I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English―it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them―then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.