There is in us a lyric germ or nucleus which deserves respect; it bids a man to ponder or create; and in this dim corner of himself he can take refuge and find consolations which the society of his fellow creatures does not provide.

I wish the English still possessed a shred of the old sense of humour which Puritanism, and dyspepsia, and newspaper reading, and tea-drinking have nearly extinguished.

People who have reformed themselves has contributed their full share towards the reformation of their neighbor.

Nobody can misunderstand a boy like his own mother. Mothers at present can bring children into the world, but this performance is apt to mark the end of their capacities. They can't even attend to the elementary animal requirements of their offspring. It is quite surprising how many children survive in spite of their mothers.

One can always trust to time. Insert a wedge of time and nearly everything straightens itself out.

A man who is stingy with saffron is capable of seducing his own grandmother.

If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things.