Washington Irving

"The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable."

"Love is the great enchantress of existence; it renders the whole world poetry to the soul."

"Truth is like the sun; you cannot look it in the face when it is too near and strong."

"The courage of a soldier is found to consist in a peculiar regard for his own honor, his own reputation."

"Admiration is the daughter of ignorance."

"The writer is a privileged character; he has liberty to think and to utter his thoughts."

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power."

"The heart of the true patriot is a citadel of hope."

"Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together."

"The great art of life is to work, to work faithfully, and to work with all the heart."

"Dreams are the bright creatures of poem and legend, not the shadowy chimeras of disease and debility."

"Time is a river of passing events; as soon as a thing has been seen it is carried away and another comes in its place."

"The superior intellect finds most pleasure in reading and in study."

"Patience is the art of hoping for something you already possess."

"When we step outside the magical circle of reality, we can entertain even the wildest suppositions."

"The mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered."

"A man of genius, however, not understood by his contemporaries, carries his conviction within himself."

"The American character is always looking ahead, grasping at something new."

"Death is but the close of a school day, and we return to resume our lessons in a broader, truer school."

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."

"In the serene breast of the philosopher, the storms of passion find no entrance."

"The grand lesson of true philosophy is to accommodate ourselves to the circumstances in which we are placed."

"Art is the effort of man to express and to communicate the beauty he perceives in nature."

"A good-natured and kind manner makes a man beloved and respected."

"The beauty of landscape consists partly in an agreeable variety and contrast."

"Perseverance is a great element of success; if you only knock long enough at the gate, you must be let in."

"Every man has his own peculiar way of enjoying life; we should neither blame nor ridicule his mode."

"Adventure is the necessary beginning of every enterprise worthy of the name."

"A person is never so much on trial as in the moment of excessive good fortune."

"The most powerful weapon against the darkness is the light of a noble heart."