. . . the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain.

His conversation was marked by its happy abundance.

And now, once again, I bid my hideous progeny go forth and prosper. I have an affection for it, for it was the offspring of happy days, when death and grief were but words, which found no true echo in my heart.

Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember.

. . . the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain.

The modern masters promise very little

I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other.