The mortality of all inanimate things is terrible to me, but that of books most of all.

A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it's too late to let her know that he sees it.

How is it the great pieces of good luck fall to us?

If we like a man's dream, we call him a reformer; if we don't like his dream, we call him a crank.

In Europe life is histrionic and dramatized, and in America, except when it is trying to be European, it is direct and sincere.

Inequality is as dear to the American heart as liberty itself.

Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of doom.

Primitive societies without religion have never been found.

Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.

The action is best that secures the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

He who sleeps in continual noise is wakened by silence.

The book which you read from a sense of duty, or because for any reason you must, does not commonly make friends with you.

The secret of the man who is universally interesting is that he is universally interested.

The conqueror is regarded with awe; the wise man commands our respect; but it is only the benevolent man that wins our affection.