Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk."

"Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment . . ."

"A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare. For the most part we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought; as if we could be satisfied with the dews of the morning or evening without their colors, or the heavens without their azure."

"He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind, and exact a motive power out of the greatest obstacles."

"The mass never comes up to the standard of its best member, but on the contrary degrades itself to a level with the lowest."