The conqueror is regarded with awe; the wise man commands our respect; but it is only the benevolent man that wins our affection.

The secret of the man who is universally interesting is that he is universally interested.

It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of doom.

The book which you read from a sense of duty, or because for any reason you must, does not commonly make friends with you.

Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

It's a curious thing, this thing we call civilization...we think it is an affair of epochs, and nations. It's really an affair of individuals. One brother will be civilized and the other a barbarian...All civilization comes through literature now, especially in our country. A Greek got his civilization by talking and looking, and in some measure a Parisian may still do it. But we, who live remote from history and monuments, we must read or we must barbarise.

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.