The wise man is but a clever infant, spelling letters from a hieroglyphical prophetic book, the lexicon of which lies in eternity.

In this world there is one godlike thing, the essence of all that was or ever will be of godlike in this world: the veneration done to Human Worth by the hearts of men.

In every object there is inexhaustible meaning; the eye sees in it what the eye brings means of seeing.

He who talks much about virtue in the abstract, begins to be suspected; it is shrewdly guessed that where there is great preaching there will be little almsgiving.

Show me the person you honor, for I know better by that the kind of person you are. For you show me what your idea of humanity is.

A well-written life is almost as rare as a well-spent one.

Our very walking is an incessant falling; a falling and a catching of ourselves before we come actually to the pavement. It is emblematic of all things a man does.