If the mind loves solitude, it has thereby acquired a loftier character, and it becomes still more noble when the taste is indulged in.

Besides the pleasure derived from acquired knowledge, there lurks in the mind of man, and tinged with a shade of sadness, an unsatisfactory longing for something beyond the present, a striving towards regions yet unknown and unopened.

Faith can be interested in results only, for a truth once recognized as such puts an end to the believer's thinking.

Absolutely nothing is so important for a nation's culture as its language.

Possession, it is true, crowns exertion with rest; but it is only in the illusions of fancy that it has power to charm us.

War seems to be one of the most salutary phenomena for the culture of human nature; and it is not without regret that I see it disappearing more and more from the scene.

It is usually more important how a man meets his fate than what it is.