If we meet no gods, it is because we harbor none.

When he is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something; ... he learns his ignorance, is cured of the insanity of conceit; has got moderation and real skill.

The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time.

There comes a period of the imagination to each--a later youth--the power of beauty, the power of looks, of poetry.

A man makes inferiors his superiors by heat; self-control is the rule.

For every seeing soul, there are two absorbing facts - I, and the abyss.

All good conversation, manners, and action come from a spontaneity which forgets usages and makes the moment great.