No one is so much alone in the universe as a denier of God. With an orphaned heart, which has lost the greatest of fathers, he stands mourning by the immeasurable corpse of nature, no longer moved and sustained by the Spirit of the universe.
The wish falls often warm upon my heart that I may learn nothing here that I cannot continue in the other world; that I may do nothing here but deeds that will bear fruit in heaven.
The virtues, like the body, become strong more by labor than by nourishment.
The last, best fruit that comes to perfection, even in the kindliest soul, is tenderness toward the hard; forbearance toward the unforbearing; warmth of heart toward the cold; and philanthropy toward the misanthropic.
A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another’s.
What a father says to his children is not heard by the world, but it will be heard by posterity.
Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time.
Only actions give life strength; only moderation gives it a charm.
The grandest of heroic deeds are those which are performed within four walls and in domestic privacy.
Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in life.
Flowers never emit so sweet and strong a fragrance as before a storm. When a storm approaches thee, be as fragrant as a sweet-smelling flower.
Has it never occurred to us, when surrounded by sorrows, that they may be sent to us only for our instruction, as we darken the cages of birds when we wish to teach them to sing?
A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.