The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices.

There is nothing more to be esteemed than a manly firmness and decision of character.

I hate to be near the sea, and to hear it roaring and raging like a wild beast in its den. It puts me in mind of the everlasting efforts of the human mind, struggling to be free, and ending just where it began.

We trifle with, make sport of, and despise those who are attached to us, and follow those that fly from us.

The most rational cure after all for the inordinate fear of death is to set a just value on life.

Vulgar prejudices are those which arise out of accident, ignorance, or authority; natural prejudices are those which arise out of the constitution of the human mind itself.

When one can do better than everyone else in the same walk, one does not make any very painful exertions to outdo oneself. The progress of improvement ceases nearly at the point where competition ends.