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As therefore the shoe is shaped by the foot, and not the foot by the shoe, so does the disposition make the life similar to itself.

as the strings of the bow and lyre are alternately tightened and relaxed, so is it with the order of the world; in human affairs there is nothing pure and without alloy

All our egoistic impulses, our selfish desires, obscure our true vision of the soul.

For life is immortal youthfulness, and it hates age that tries to clog its movements--age that belongs not to life in truth, but follows it as the shadow follows the lamp.

It is for our self to know that it must be born anew every moment of its life.

The meaning of the living words that come out of the experiences of great hearts can never be exhausted by any one system of logical interpretation.

The more man acts and makes actual what was latent in him, the nearer does he bring the distant Yet-to-be.

Every promise of the soul has innumerable fulfilments; each of its joys ripens into a new want.

Their once flaming regard is sobered by time in either breast, and losing in violence what it gains in extent, it becomes a thorough good understanding.

Though slowly and with pain, the objects of the affections change, as the objects of thought do.

Thus even love, which is the deification of persons, must become more impersonal every day.

A species of thick clothing slowly grows about the mind, the pores are choked, little habits become a part of existence, and by degrees the mind is inclosed in a husk.

There is no cutting of the Gordian knots of life; each must be smilingly unravelled.

The length of man's life, which is endless to the brave and busy, is scorned by his ambitious thought.

Falling in love is the one illogical adventure, the one thing of which we are tempted to think as supernatural, in our trite and reasonable world.

The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.

Great evils are in some cases only to be met by resistance; they cannot be wept down, but must be battled down.

We are responsible for what we are; and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.

I do not pretend to understand the moral universe, the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. But from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.

The great crisis must come, or no man has the chance to develop great qualities.

If we would put some slight stress on ourselves at the beginning, then afterwards we should be able to do all things with ease and joy.

Little by little, through patience and long-suffering, thou shalt conquer by the help of God, rather than by violence and thine own strength of will.

Now dost thou resolve to avoid a fault, and within an hour thou behavest thyself as if thou hadst never resolved at all.

Alas, we have known Times call loudly enough for their great man; but not find him when they called!

We have it in our power to begin the world over again