Mankind have such a deep stake in inward illumination, that there is much to be said by the hermit or monk in defence of his life of thought and prayer.

If I cannot brag of knowing something, then I brag of not knowing it; at any rate, brag.

By degrees we may come to know the primitive sense of the permanent objects of nature, so that the world shall be to us an open book, and every form significant of its hidden life and final cause.

A beautiful woman is a picture which drives all beholders nobly mad.

In the order of nature, we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody. Beware of too much good staying in your hand. It will fast corrupt and worm worms. Pay it away quickly in some sort.

The ornaments of our homes are the friends that visit it

The reliance on authority measures the decline of religion, the withdrawal of the soul.