There are two ways of attaining an important end, force and perseverance; the silent power of the latter grows irresistible with time.

To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.

Men do not go out to meet misfortune as we do. They learn it; and we--we divine it.

He who has ceased to enjoy his friend's superiority has ceased to love him.

In retirement, the passage of time seems accelerated. Nothing warns us of its flight. It is a wave which never murmurs, because there is no obstacle to its flow.

It would seem that by our sorrows only are we called to a knowledge of the Infinite. Are we happy? The limits of life constrain us on all sides.

Old age is not one of the beauties of creation, but it is one of its harmonies. The law of contrasts is one of the laws of beauty. Under the conditions of our climate, shadow gives light its worth; sternness enhances mildness; solemnity, splendor. Varying proportions of size support and subserve one another.