The noblest ministry of nature is to stand as the apparition of God.

There are books... which rank in our life with parents and lovers and passionate experiences.

I cannot go to the houses of my nearest relatives, because I do not wish to be alone. Society exists by chemical affinity, and not otherwise.

There can be no high civility without a deep morality, though it may not always call itself by that name.

Freedom is the essence of this faith. It has for its object simply to make men good and wise. Its institutions then should be as flexible as the wants of men. That form out of which the life and suitableness have departed should be as worthless in its eyes as the dead leaves that are falling around us.

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

Sugar is not so sweet to the palate as sound to the healthy ear.