The State must follow, and not lead, the character and progress of the citizen.

We infer the spirit of the nation in great measure from the language, which is a sort of monument, to which each forcible individual in a course of many hundred years has contributed a stone.

Teach the children! It is painting in fresco.

Great men do not content us. It is their solitude, not their force, that makes them conspicuous.

Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man. Without it, thought can never ripen into truth.

The good judge is not he who does hair-splitting justice to every allegation, but who, aiming at substantial justice, rules something intelligible of the guidance of suitors.

When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive.