Those who have ruled human destinies, like planets, for thousands of years, were not handsome men.

The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture. Language is fossil poetry. As the limestone of the continent consists of infinite masses of the shells of animalcules, so language is made up of images or tropes, which now, in their secondary use, have long ceased to remind us of their poetic origin.

There is no one who does not exaggerate!

Who looks upon a river in a meditative hour and is not reminded of the flux of all things?

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.[What is a sorrow? A feeling whose benefits have not yet been discovered]

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

We must learn the language of facts. The most wonderful inspirations die with their subject, if he has no hand to paint them to the senses.