"I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right."

"I heartily accept the motto, — 'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which al…"

"We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones."

"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"

"Hardly a man takes a half-hour's nap after dinner, but when he wakes he holds up his head and asks, 'What's the news?' as if the rest of mankind had stood his sentinels. Some give him the news as if t…"