In what way, or by what manner of working, God changes a soul from evil to good, how He impregnates the barren rock--the priceless gems and gold--is to the human mind an impenetrable mystery, in all cases alike.

A woman in a single state may be happy and may be miserable; but most happy, most miserable, these are epithets belonging to a wife.

Novels are to love as fairy tales to dreams.

The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.

To doubt has more of faith ... than that blank negation of all such thoughts and feelings which is the lot of the herd of church-and-meeting trotters.

Not one man in a thousand has either strength of mind or goodness of heart to be an Atheist. I repeat it. Not one man in a thousand has either strength of mind or goodness of heart to be an Atheist.

If people could learn history, what lessons it might teach us!