Music is well said to be the speech of angels. music
Science must have originated in the feeling that something was wrong. science
War is a quarrel between two thieves too cowardly to fight their own battle. war
Reform is not pleasant, but grievous no person can reform themselves without suffering and hard work, how much less a nation. work
A strong mind always hopes, and has always cause to hope. hope
In books lies the soul of the whole past time. time
Imagination is a poor matter when it has to part company with understanding. imagination
It is a vain hope to make people happy by politics. hope & politics
None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone. being alone
The first duty of man is to conquer fear he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then. fear
Secrecy is the element of all goodness even virtue, even beauty is mysterious. beauty
Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebel against anything that does not deserve rebelling against. men & time
If you look deep enough you will see music the heart of nature being everywhere music. music & nature
History, a distillation of rumour. history
All great peoples are conservative. greatness
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. business
Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world. faith
The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully. courage
To us also, through every star, through every blade of grass, is not God made visible if we will open our minds and our eyes. God
Wonder is the basis of worship. religion
If an eloquent speaker speak not the truth, is there a more horrid kind of object in creation? truth
The eye sees what it brings the power to see. power
I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. wisdom
No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men. greatness, history & men
Old age is not a matter for sorrow. It is matter for thanks if we have left our work done behind us. aging, thankful & work
Humor has justly been regarded as the finest perfection of poetic genius. humor
Man is, properly speaking, based upon hope, he has no other possession but hope this world of his is emphatically the place of hope. hope
The real use of gunpowder is to make all men tall. men
Every noble work is at first impossible. work
Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together. greatness
I don't pretend to understand the Universe - it's a great deal bigger than I am. greatness
Oh, give us the man who sings at his work. work
He who has health, has hope and he who has hope, has everything. fitness, health & hope
History shows that the majority of people that have done anything great have passed their youth in seclusion. greatness & history
Sarcasm I now see to be, in general, the language of the devil for which reason I have long since as good as renounced it. being good
The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green. business, being good & work
Men do less than they ought, unless they do all that they can. men
There is a great discovery still to be made in literature, that of paying literary men by the quantity they do not write. greatness & men
Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better, Silence is deep as Eternity speech is shallow as Time. being good & time
A man willing to work, and unable to find work, is perhaps the saddest sight that fortune's inequality exhibits under this sun. work
The three great elements of modern civilization, Gun powder, Printing, and the Protestant religion. greatness & religion
The only happiness a brave person ever troubles themselves in asking about, is happiness enough to get their work done. happiness & work
I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom. greatness
Silence is as deep as eternity, speech a shallow as time. time
For all right judgment of any man or things it is useful, nay, essential, to see his good qualities before pronouncing on his bad. being good
The difference between Socrates and Jesus? The great conscious and the immeasurably great unconscious. greatness
No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men. greatness & men
Endurance is patience concentrated. patience
The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better. being good & greatness
Nothing that was worthy in the past departs no truth or goodness realized by man ever dies, or can die. truth
What you see, but can't see over is as good as infinite. being good
This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it. science
Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone. being alone
There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune. being good
Blessed is he who has found his work let him ask no other blessedness. business & work
A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge. knowledge & love
Clever men are good, but they are not the best. best, being good & men
Work alone is noble. being alone & work