It is sad to see a woman sacrificing the ties of the affections even to do good.
The Southern character is opposed to haste. Safety is of more worth than speed, and there is no hurry.
A young sailor boy came to see me today. It pleases me to have these lads seek me on their return from their first voyage, and tell me how much they have learned about navigation.
People have to learn sometimes not only how much the heart, but how much the head, can bear.
Altogether, St. Louis is a growing place, and the West has a large hand and a strong grasp.
I am just learning to notice the different colors of the stars, and already begin to have a new enjoyment.
The world of learning is so broad, and the human soul is so limited in power!
I had, early in life, a love for staging, but it is fast dying out. Nine hours over a rough road are enough to root out the most passionate love of that kind.
I was born, for instance, incapable of appreciating music.
I would as soon put a girl alone into a closet to meditate as give her only the society of her needle.
To read a book, to think it over, and to write out notes is a useful exercise; a book which will not repay some hard thought is not worth publishing.
I was a little doubtful about the propriety of going to the Mammoth Cave without a gentleman escort, but if two ladies travel alone they must have the courage of men.
The best that can be said of my life so far is that it has been industrious, and the best that can be said of me is that I have not pretended to what I was not.
Small aids to individuals, large aid to masses.
We especially need imagination in science.
We travel to learn; and I have never been in any country where they did not do something better than we do it, think some thoughts better than we think, catch some inspiration from heights above our own.
As a general rule, people disappoint you as you know them.
Every formula which expresses a law of nature is a hymn of praise to God.
That knowledge which is popular is not scientific.
We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.
Do not look at stars as bright spots only. Try to take in the vastness of the universe.
We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are capable of seeing.
There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.