The root of joy, as of duty, is to put all one's powers towards some great end.

The noblest service comes from nameless hands; and the best servant does his work unseen.

Poverty comes pleading not for charity, for the most part, but imploring us to find a purchaser for its unmarketable wares.

There is a little plant called reverence in the corner of my soul's garden, which I love to have watered once a week.

One of the eternal conflicts out of which life is made up is that between the effort of every man to get the most he can for his services, and that of society, disguised under the name of capital, to get his services for the least possible return.

The ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas [and] the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market.

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.