When emulation leads us to strive for self-elevation by merit alone, and not by belittling another, then it is one of the grandest possible incentives to action.

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.

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love.

Worrying is the most natural and spontaneous of all human functions. It is time to acknowledge this, perhaps even to learn to do it better.

i am hopelessly in love with a momentthat has not come yetit existssomewheresome placejust not herejust not now

But that woman is an encyclopedia!Of all vices, ancient and modern, and terribly interesting to leaf through!

In a world where thrushes sing and willow trees are golden in the spring, boredom should have been included among the seven deadly sins.

I don't call you handsome, sir, though I love you most dearly: far too dearly to flatter you. Don't flatter me.

Because if I don't know my lines, I really don't know what I'm doing.

Vanity, shame, and above all disposition, often make men brave and women chaste.

I now know that nothing in my life will change until I change the way I see my life and myself.

It is impossible that anything will be well understood or well done that is taken into a reluctant understanding, and executed with a servile hand.