A poem, a sentence, causes us to see ourselves. I be, and I see my being, at the same time.

Our debt to tradition through reading and conversation is so massive, our protest so rare and insignificant-and this commonly on the ground of other reading and hearing-that in large sense, one would say there is no pure originality. All minds quote. Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is no thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. It is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to invent.

He thought it happier to be dead, To die for Beauty, than live for bread

Men such as they are, very naturally seek money or power; and power because it is as good as money.

To the men of this world, to the animal strength and spirits, to the men of practical power, whilst immersed in it, the man of ideas appears out of his reason. They alone gave reason.

We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice, hesitation, and following are our diseases.

What is a man born for but to be a reformer, a remaker of what has been made, a denouncer of lies, a restorer of truth and good?