I am one of those who believe that spiritual progress is a rule of human life, but the approach to perfection is slow and painful. If a woman elevates herself in one respect and is retarded in another, it is because the rough trail that leads to the mountain peak
I have a hundred times wished that one could resign life as an officer resigns a commission.
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
How tranquil is a coral tomb, and may the heavens grant that my companions and I be buried in no other!
Scent is the soul of flowers, and sea flowers, as splendid as they may be, have no soul!
He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself.
O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us. (O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us.)
I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty.