The solitary knows the essence of the thought, the scholar in society only its fair face.

We are too civil to books. For a few golden sentences we will turn over and actually read a volume of four or five hundred pages.

Things bring their own philosophy with them, that is, prudence.

We see God face to face every hour, and know the savor of Nature.

Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.

...What torments of pain have you endured that haven't as yet arrived? and may never!

The secret of success lies never in the amount of money, but in the relation of income to outgo.