Art must anchor in nature, or it is the sport of every breath of folly.

A great chessplayer is not a great man, for he leaves the world as he found it.

That which is not, shall never be; that which is, shall never cease to be. To the wise, these truths are self-evident.

A man's reputation is not in his own keeping, but lies at the mercy of the profligacy of others. Calumny requires no proof. The throwing out [of] malicious imputations against any character leaves a stain, which no after-refutation can wipe out. To create an unfavorable impression, it is not necessary that certain things should be true, but that they have been said. The imagination is of so delicate a texture that even words wound it.

Weakness has its hidden resources, as well as strength. There is a degree of folly and meanness which we cannot calculate upon, and by which we are as much liable to be foiled as by the greatest ability or courage.

He who lives wisely to himself and his own heart looks at the busy world through the loopholes of retreat, and does not want to mingle in the fray.

Truth from the mouth of an honest man and severity from a good-natured man have a double effect.