Thought dissolves the material universe by carrying the mind up into a sphere where all is plastic.

Every man is eloquent once in his life.

Our best history is still poetry.

The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation: and it makes no difference whether our dissipations are coarse or fine; property and its cares, friends and a social habit, or politics, or music, or feasting. Everything is good which takes away one plaything and delusion more, and drives us home to add one stroke of faithful work.

Whenever a true theory appears, it will be its own evidence. Its test is, that it will explain all phenomena.

When life has been well spent, age is a loss of what it can well spare,--muscular strength, organic instincts, gross bulk, and works that belong to these. But the central wisdom, which was old in infancy, is young in fourscore years, and dropping off obstructions, leaves in happy subjects the mind purified and wise.

It is better to be a thorn in the side of a friend than an echo.