But wise men pierce this rotten diction and fasten words again to visible things; so that picturesque language is at once a commanding certificate that he who employs it, is a man in alliance with truth and God.

Universities are of course hostile to geniuses, which, seeing and using ways of their own, discredit the routine: as churches and monasteries persecute youthful saints.

A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages

We forget ourselves and our destinies in health, and the chief use of temporary sickness is to remind us of these concerns.

Philanthropic and religious bodies do not commonly make their executive officers out of saints.

He only is a well-made man who has a good determination.

I cannot forgive a scholar his homeless despondency.