There is no genius free from some tincture of madness

Mercy often inflicts death.

To see a man fearless in dangers, untainted with lusts, happy in adversity, composed in a tumult, and laughing at all those things which are generally either coveted or feared, all men must acknowledge that this can be from nothing else but a beam of divinity that influences a mortal body.

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with course and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: " Is this the condition that I feared?"

What-so-ever the mind has ordained for itself, it has achieved

The most happy ought to wish for death.

Without an adversary prowess shrivels. We see how great and efficient it really is only when it shows by endurance what it is capable of.