“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world
“Sorrows gather around great souls as storms do around mountains; but, like them, they break the storm and purify the air of the plain beneath them
“The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides
“Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.
“Men may change their climate, but they cannot change their nature. A man that goes out a fool cannot ride or sail himself into common sense
““What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable
“A cloudy day, or a little sunshine, have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most real blessings or misfortunes
“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice
“Marriage brings one into fatal connection with custom and tradition, and traditions and customs are like the wind and weather, alltogether incalculable
“Give me books, fruit, French wine and fine weather and a little music out of doors, played by someone I do not know
“If there were only turnips and potatoes in the world, someone would complain that plants grow the wrong way.
“Reason now gazes above the realm of the dark but warm feelings as the alpine peaks do above the clouds. They behold the sun more clearly and distinctly, but they are cold and unfruitful
“The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do
“Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass
“I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.