So it is with minds. Unless you keep them busy with some definite subject that will bridle and control them, they throw themselves in disorder hither and yon in the vague field of imagination... And there is no mad or idle fancy that they do not bring forth in the agitation.

Repentance is no other than a recanting of the will, and opposition to our fancies, which lead us which way they please.

No pleasure has any savor for me without communication.

The most useful and honorable science and occupation for a woman is the science of housekeeping. I know some that are miserly, very few that are good managers.

A straight oar looks bent in the water. It matters not merely that we see a thing, but how we see it.

Hath God obliged himself not to exceed the bounds of our knowledge?

What enriches language is its being handled and exploited by beautiful minds-not so much by making innovations as by expanding it through more vigorous and varied applications, by extending it and deploying it. It is not words that they contribute: what they do is enrich their words, deepen their meanings and tie down their usage; they teach it unaccustomed rhythms, prudently though and with ingenuity.