That which is called liberality is frequently nothing more than the vanity of giving.

The earnestness of life is the only passport to satisfaction of life.

No man is so great as mankind.

I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.

The coat of the buffalo never pinches under the arm, never puckers at the shoulders; it is always the same, yet never old fashioned nor out of date.

The miraculous revelation of the Old Testament and the New, the miracles of famous men, Jews, Gentiles, or Christians, — then Franklin had no religion at all; and it would be an insult to say that he believed in the popular theology of his time, or of ours, for I find not a line from his pen indicating any such belief.

You may not, cannot, appropriate beauty. It is the wealth of the eye, and a cat may gaze upon a king.