A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.

People can be divided into two classes: those who go ahead and do something, and those who sit still and inquire, why wasn't it done the other way?

What a comfort a dull but kindly person is, to be sure, at times! A ground-glass shade over a gas-lamp does not bring more solace to our dazzled eyes than such a one to our minds.

And Silence, like a poultice, comes to heal the blows of sound.

Young men know the rules, but old men know the exceptions.

Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked.

Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing.

The greatest act of faith is when a man understands he is not God.