When real nobleness accompanies that imaginary one of birth, the imaginary seems to mix with real, and becomes real too.

Taste may be compared to that exquisite sense of the bee, which instantly discovers and extracts the quintessence of every flower, and disregards all the rest of it.

Man is the only creature endowed with the power of laughter; is he not also the only one that deserves to be laughed at?

Habit is the cement of society, the comfort of life, and, alas! The root of error.

O wearisome condition of humanity! Born under one law, to another bound; Vainly begot and yet forbidden vanity; Created sick, commanded to be sound.

Man is said to be a rational creature; but should it not rather be said, that man is a creature capable of being rational, as we say a parrot is a creature capable of speech?

The mind's eye is perhaps no better fitted for the full radiance of truth, than is the body's for that of the sun.

The criterion of true beauty is that it increases on examination; if false, that it lessens.

There are sometimes beauties in a character which would never have appeared but for a defect, and defects which would never have appeared but for a beauty.

Love will sacrifice more to others than friendship, but then it exacts more from them.

How happy is it for us, that the admiration of others should depend so much more on their ignorance than our perfection!

What you don't do can be a destructive force.

I felt, as I became a later and later bloomer, alienated not just from my own recalcitrant glabrous little body but in a way from the whole elemental exterior I'd come to see as my co-conspirator.

God is seeking those who hear His call to a life of worship. Those who heed are those who will walk in His presence. They will know Him intimately as He will manifest Himself to them.

If you’re worrying about the wrinkles on your bollocks I’d say your life’s pretty good

I love having messy hair. I put in a lot of effort to have it look as messy as possible.

Meanness demeans the demeaner far more than the demeaned.

There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving. But who wants easier?

TLC should stand for Toddlers, Lunatics, and Cake.

Common sense is as rare as genius.

I think that standing onstage on January 19th, and my father had just defied all expectations and won Iowa, was by far the most surreal moment.