Wonder is the foundation of all philosophy, inquiry the progress, ignorance the end.

I do myself a greater injury in lying than I do him of whom I tell a lie.

It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.

No one but yourself knows whether you are cowardly and cruel, or loyal and devout; others do not see you; they surmise you by uncertain conjectures; they perceive not so much your nature as your art.

Poetry reproduces an indefinable mood that is more amorous than love itself. Venus is not so beautiful all naked, alive, and panting, as she is here in Virgil.

We have no participation in Being, because all human nature is ever midway between being born and dying, giving off only a vague image and shadow of itself, and a weak and uncertain opinion. And if you chance to fix your thoughts on trying to grasp its essence, it would be neither more nor less than if your tried to clutch water.

Scratching is one of nature's sweetest gratifications, and nearest at hand.