Washington Irving

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

"The true way to gain a man's favor is not by performing great acts but by little ones."

"A tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use."

"The feelings of my smallness and my own deficiencies always kept me from arrogance."

"In the service of our country, we believe that a service so rendered is a privilege and honor."

"There is nothing in this world that does not have a difficult aspect."

"A kindly smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home."

"Silence and modesty are very valuable qualities in conversation."

"Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt."

"The power of the imagination makes us infinite."

"To be truly happy one must have noble thoughts and a peaceful conscience."

"History records the names of royal bastards, but cannot tell us the origin of wheat."

"The greatest strength lies not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall."

"I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories."

"The very trance of the ecstatic moment could not chain the swiftness of the thought."

"No man's ideas are of much consequence; actions alone matter."

"The human brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you are born and never stops."

"There is a certain relief in change, even if it be from bad to worse."

"The sorrow of the heart finds its best relief in the bosom of a faithful friend."

"Beauty is often spoken of as though it were one thing distinct from usefulness."

"In the morning of life work is; in the midday give counsel; in the evening pray."

"The author that speaks about his own books is almost as bad as the mother that talks about her own children."

"Music does more than any other art to take us immediately out of ourselves."

"An honest exterior is the best passport for introducing yourself to the world."

"The wealth of a country is its working people."

"A kind manner is the best charm for brightening the corners of life."

"Science is not about knowing all the answers; it is about asking the right questions."

"Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall: a mother's secret hope outlives them all."

"The understanding of poetry comes hard to those who have no sense of its beauty."

"Men of business rarely understand the nature of true friendship."