Life is a quarry, out of which we are to mold and chisel and complete a character.

If God wants us to do a thing, he should make his wishes sufficiently clear. Sensible people will wait till he has done this before paying much attention to him.

Priests are not men of the world; it is not intended that they should be; and a University training is the one best adapted to prevent their becoming so.

The dons of Oxford and Cambridge are too busy educating the young men to be able to teach them anything.

For truth is precious and divine, too rich a pearl for carnal swine.

[P]oetry resembles metaphysics: one does not mind one's own, but one does not like anyone else's.

Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as it were, a trifle sharp to allow for an inevitable fall in playing.