It is easy to look down on others; to look down on ourselves is the difficulty.

Truth is a point, the subtlest and finest; harder than adamant; never to be broken, worn away, or blunted. Its only bad quality is, that it is sure to hurt those who touch it; and likely to draw blood, perhaps the life blood, of those who press earnestly upon it.

Friendships are the purer and the more ardent, the nearer they come to the presence of God, the Sun not only of righteousness but of love.

Study is the bane of childhood, the oil of youth, the indulgence of adulthood, and a restorative in old age.

Everything that looks to the future elevates human nature; for never is life so low or so little as when occupied with the present.

Nations, like individuals, interest us in their growth.

My thoughts are my company; I can bring them together, select them, detain them, dismiss them.