I may say it of our preposterous use of books,--He knew not what to do, and so he read.
Who hears me, who understands me, becomes mine, a possession for all time.
For all men live by truth, and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor, in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.
One of our statesmen said, "The curse of this country is eloquent men."
A man must thank his defects, and stand in some terror of his talents.
Nature may be as selfishly studied as trade. Astronomy to the selfish becomes astrology; psychology, mesmerism (with intent to show where aour spoons are gone); and anatomy and physiology become phrenology and palmistry.