The bread of bitterness is the food on which men grow to their fullest stature; the waters of bitterness are the debatable ford through which they reach the shores of wisdom; the ashes boldly grasped and eaten without faltering are the price that must be paid for the golden fruit of knowledge.

Fame has only the span of the day, they say. But to live in the hearts of people-that is worth something.

It needs a great nature to bear the weight of a great gratitude.

Genius cannot escape the taint of its time more than a child the influence of its begetting.

The radical defect in Christianity is that it tried to win the world by a bribe, and it has become a nullity.

When passion and habit long lie in company it is only slowly and with incredulity that habit awakens to finds its companion fled, itself alone.

It is quite easy for stupid people to be happy; they believe in fables, and they trot on in a beaten track like a horse on a tramway.