Washington Irving

"The fountain of content must spring up in the mind."

"Character is not what you have done, but what you would do if you knew you would never be found out."

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious."

"A reading habit is a luxury no thoughtful person should be without."

"Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come."

"The victories of virtue must be bought with the sacrifice of our passions."

"The great object of life is sensation—to feel that we exist."

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

"A sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use."

"The almighty dollar is the only object of worship."

"Christmas is the season of joy, of gift-giving, and of families drawing together."

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends."

"There is nothing so charming as having a hobby and working at it with all your heart."

"The mind requires constant nourishment just as the body does."

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

"The happiest man is he who learns from the humblest things around him."

"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper."

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not."

"The true way to gain much is never to desire too much."

"A laugh is worth a hundred groans in any market."

"History is full of the sound and fury of momentous events, yet often the smallest things move the world."

"Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober."

"The world continues to offer glittering prizes to those who have stout hearts and sharp swords."

"To be happy, one must learn to appreciate what one has rather than pine for what one lacks."

"The true traveler leaves his prejudices at home."

"Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it may be the means of doing much good."

"A kind word never broke anyone's mouth."

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

"Honest good-humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting."

"The sudden death of what once appeared to be a flourishing enterprise is nothing extraordinary."