I cherished hope, it is true, but it vanished when my person reflected . . .

The world to me was a secret, which I desired to discover; to her it was a vacancy, which she sought to people with imaginations of her own.

You are my creator, but I am your master; Obey!

She was no longer that happy creature who in earlier youth wandered with me on the banks of the lake and talked with ecstasy of our future prospects. The first of those sorrows which are sent to wean us from the earth had visited her, and its dimming influence quenched her dearest smiles.

...once I falsely hoped to meet the beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities which I was capable of unfolding.

A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility.

With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.