Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.

I think that we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death, unless they so imminently threaten immediate interference with the lawful and pressing purposes of the law that an immediate check is required to save the country.

The advice of the elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books.

Science is the topography of ignorance. From a few elevated points we triangulate vast spaces, inclosing infinite unknown details. We cast the lead, and draw up a little sand from abysses we may never reach with our dredges.

Who does not feel that Nansen's account of his search for the Pole rather loses than gains in ideal satisfaction by the pretense of a few trifling acquisitions for science?

Life is an end in itself, and the only question as to whether it is worth living is whether you have had enough of it.

People talk fundamentals and superlatives and then make some changes of detail.