Much is due to those who first broke the way to knowledge, and left only to their successors the task of smoothing it.

Cucumber should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.

Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit.

There are minds so impatient of inferiority that their gratitude is a species of revenge, and they return benefits, not because recompense is a pleasure, but because obligation is a pain.

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

It was the only act of rebellion I knew—to be worthy of such an insult as “butterfly.

Hope knows that if great trials are avoided great deeds remain undone and the possibility of growth into greatness of soul is aborted.

Take my hands,” Alec said. “And take my strength too. Whatever of it you can use to— to keep yourself going.

Switzerland is a country where very few things begin, but many things end.

Those that hope little cannot grow much.

Hope lies in what the book title says, finding love and community.

Water is the one substance from which the earth can conceal nothing; it sucks out its innermost secrets and brings them to our very lips.

Who deserves more credit than the wife of a coal miner? Mother was one.

I do not support child abuse. It's a disgusting crime of which I am a victim.

Meet them halfway with love, peace, and persuasion, and expect them to rise for the occasion.