 Do anything rather than give yourself to reverie. |
| Grandeur of character lies wholly in force of soul, that is, in the force of thought, moral principle, and love, and this may be found in the humblest condition of life. |
| The reveries of youth, in which so much energy is wasted, are the yearnings of a Spirit made for what it has not found but must forever seek as an Ideal. |
| Fix your eyes on perfection and you make almost everything speed towards it. |
| God is another name for human intelligence raised above all error and imperfection, and extended to all possible truth. |
| How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success. |
| All noble enthusiasms pass through a feverish stage, and grow wiser and more serene. |
| The best books for a man are not always those which the wise recommend, but often those which meet the peculiar wants, the natural thirst of his mind, and therefore awaken interest and rivet thought. |
| We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit; but the same blunder is made by every person who is over eager and impatient in the pursuit of pleasure. |
| It is far more important to me to preserve an unblemished conscience than to compass any object however great. |
| It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours. |
| The great hope of society is in individual character. |
| Every human being is intended to have a character of his own; to be what no others are, and to do what no other can do. |
| No one should part with their individuality and become that of another. |
| He who is false to the present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and you will see the effect when the weaving of a life-time is unraveled. |
| Each of us is meant to have a character all our own, to be what no other can exactly be, and do what no other can exactly do. |
| The office of government is not to confer happiness, but to give men the opportunity to work out happiness for themselves. |
| The world is governed by opinion. |
| It is not the quantity but the quality of knowledge which determines the mind's dignity. |
| Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance. |
