“The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing , to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts, not a select party”

“Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it, but cherished by those who do”

“People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into an animal stupor that gapes at existence and they think they have seen something”

“An extensive knowledge is needful to thinking people- it takes away the heat and fever; and helps, by widening speculation, to ease the burden of the mystery”

“The more I see of the representatives of the people, the more I admire my dogs”

“No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam”