That which anyone has been long learning unwillingly, he unlearns with proportional eagerness and haste.

He who expects from a great name in politics, in philosophy, in art, equal greatness in other things, is little versed in human nature. Our strength lies in our weakness. The learned in books are ignorant of the world. He who is ignorant of books is often well acquainted with other things; for life is of the same length in the learned and unlearned; the mind cannot be idle; if it is not taken up with one thing, it attends to another through choice or necessity; and the degree of previous capacity in one class or another is a mere lottery.

A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.

We imagine that the admiration of the works of celebrated men has become common, because the admiration of their names has become so.

That which anyone has been long learning unwillingly, he unlearns with proportional eagerness and haste.

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.

From the height from which the great look down on the world all the rest of mankind seem equal.