Nothing is more unaccountable than the spell that often lurks in a spoken word. A thought may be present to the mind, and two minds conscious of the same thought, but as long as it remains unspoken their familiar talk flows quietly over the hidden idea.

I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am!

It [the scarlet letter] had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.

We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.

A woman's chastity consists, like an onion, of a series of coats.

What is the voice of song when the world lacks the ear of taste?

Honesty and wisdom are such a delightful pastime, at another person's expense!