And so, at the age of thirty, I had successively disgraced myself with three fine institutions, each of which had made me free of its full and rich resources, had trained me with skill and patience, and had shown me nothing but forbearance and charity when I failed in trust.

I loved the Army as an institution and loathed every single thing it required me to do.

... life is short and the world is wide

Scholarship was one thing, drudgery another. I very soon concluded that nothing would induce me to read, let alone make notes on, hundreds and hundreds of very, very, very boring books.

Since life is short and the world is wide, the sooner you start exploring it, the better.

Gentlemen can now only behave as such, or be tolerated as such, in circumstances that are manifestly contrived or unreal.

And so, at the age of thirty, I had successively disgraced myself with three fine institutions, each of which had made me free of its full and rich resources, had trained me with skill and patience, and had shown me nothing but forbearance and charity when I failed in trust.