Perception is a mirror not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward.

The visible heavens and earth sympathize with Jesus.

There is something servile in the habit of seeking after a law which we must obey.

But in every constitution some large degree of animal vigor is necessary as material foundation for the higher qualities of the art.

As I walked in the woods I felt what I often feel that nothing can befall me in life, no calamity, no disgrace (leaving me my eyes) to which Nature will not offer a sweet consolation. Standing on the bare ground with my head bathed by the blithe air, & uplifted into the infinite space, I become happy in my universal relations. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign & accidental. I am the heir of uncontained beauty and power.

The moment we indulge our affections, the earth is metamorphosed.

Let ideas establish their legitimate sway again in society, let life be fair and poetic, and the scholars will gladly be lovers, citizens, and philanthropists.