What? Was man made a wheel-work to wind up,
And be discharged, and straight wound up anew?
read more

What? Was man made a wheel-work to wind up,
And be discharged, and straight wound up anew?
No! grown, his growth lasts; taught, he ne'er forgets;
May learn a thousand things, not twice the same.

Arts and sciences are not cast in a mould, but are found and
perfected by degrees, by often handling read more

Arts and sciences are not cast in a mould, but are found and
perfected by degrees, by often handling and polishing, as bears
leisurely lick their clubs into shape.

A lover of Jesus and of the truth . . . can lift himself above
himself in spirit.
read more

A lover of Jesus and of the truth . . . can lift himself above
himself in spirit.
[Lat., Amator Jesu et veritatis . . . potest se . . . elevare
supra seipsum in spiritu.]

The great world's altar stairs
That slope through darkness up to God.

The great world's altar stairs
That slope through darkness up to God.

You cannot hammer a girl into anything. She grows as a flower does, she will wither without sun; she will read more

You cannot hammer a girl into anything. She grows as a flower does, she will wither without sun; she will decay in her sheath as a narcissus will if you do not give her air enough; she might fall and defile her head in dust if you leave her without help at some moments in her life; but you cannot fetter her; she must take her own fair form and way if she take any.

Jock, when he hae naething else to do, ye may be aye sticking in
a tree; it will be read more

Jock, when he hae naething else to do, ye may be aye sticking in
a tree; it will be growing, Jock, when ye're sleeping.

Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment - the read more

Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment - the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

Our pleasures and our discontents,
Are rounds by which we may ascend.

Our pleasures and our discontents,
Are rounds by which we may ascend.