The heart should have fed upon the truth, as insects on a leaf, till it be tinged with the color, and show its food in every ... minutest fiber.

Exclusively of the abstract sciences, the largest and worthiest portion of our knowledge consists of aphorisms: and the greatest and best of men is but an aphorism.

Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.

There is one art of which people should be masters - the art of reflection.

Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.

A great mind must be androgynous.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea.

That gracious thing, made up of tears and light.

The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.

Religion is the most gentlemanly thing in the world. It alone will gentilize, if unmixed with cant.

Poor little Foal of an oppressed race! I love the languid patience of thy face.

It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first. The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose aiming at something outside self.

My life has changed for the better. It's just amazing. I have to catch myself sometimes. It's like a dream. It's a great thing.

Poetry is always slightly mysterious, and you wonder what is your relationship to it.

Footballers nowadays are controlling their image through their own Facebook page so its not the club that controls them anymore, they do what they want at anytime.

That's how you deal with stardom; you make it the least important part of your life.

Sometimes language is not enough.

Maine is a joy in the summer. But the soul of Maine is more apparent in the winter.

In a way, a lot of my work is in the re-writing once it is cast, as I adapt to the rhythms of how the roles are played out by the actors.

I never get any protests from children. All you get are giggles of mirth and squirms of delight. I know what children like.

I had been walking one afternoon in Scotland and thought: Why don't I just keep going? There was, I said, a magic in leaving a line of footprints stretching across Asia.