There is not a more mean, stupid, dastardly, pitiful, selfish, spiteful, envious, ungrateful animal than the Public. It is the greatest of cowards, for it is afraid of itself.

Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary power, while genius is involuntary.

We go on a journey to be free of all impediments; to leave ourselves behind much more than to get rid of others

Abuse is an indirect species of homage.

To impress the idea of power on others, they must be made in some way to feel it.

The expression of a gentleman's face is not so much that of refinement, as of flexibility, not of sensibility and enthusiasm as of indifference; it argues presence of mind rather than enlargement of ideas.

Elegance is something more than ease; it is more than a freedom from awkwardness or restraint. It implies, I conceive, a precision, a polish, a sparkling, spirited yet delicate.