All is egotism. The only people whose mainspring is not egotism are the dead and perhaps idiots.

there is a law of retribution in all things, direct or indirect, visible or invisible.

Only a very small percentage can regard conditions from any but a selfish point of view or conceive of any but their own shoe-pinch.

It's a sign of your own worth sometimes if you are hated by the right people.

When all is said and done, friendship is the only trustworthy fabric of the affections. So-called LOVE is a delirious inhuman state of mind: when hot it substitutes indulgence for fair play; when cold it is cruel, but friendship is warmth in cold, firm ground in a bog.

Heed the spark or you may dread the fire.

Every now and again it would be considered wholesome for me to be more with people of my own age. Demotion to such company was a sapless exile. Their inanity was insufferable.