If the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter, the whole face of the
earth would have been changed.

If the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter, the whole face of the
earth would have been changed.

Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.

Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water
flowing hidden underground, secretly making read more

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water
flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.

By the golden chain Homer meant nothing else than the sun.

By the golden chain Homer meant nothing else than the sun.

There is no such thing as a good influence. Because to influence a person is to give him one's own read more

There is no such thing as a good influence. Because to influence a person is to give him one's own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtures are not real to him. His sins, if there are such thing as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him.

Spontaneously to God should turn the soul,
Like the magnetic needle to the pole;
But what were read more

Spontaneously to God should turn the soul,
Like the magnetic needle to the pole;
But what were that intrinsic virtue worth,
Suppose some fellow, with more zeal than knowledge,
Fresh from St. Andrew's College,
Should nail the conscious needle to the north?

Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy like to thy neighbor's creed has lent,
All are needed by read more

Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy like to thy neighbor's creed has lent,
All are needed by each one;
Nothing is fair or good alone.

I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.

I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.

The strongest influences in my life and my work are always whomever I love. Whomever I love and am with read more

The strongest influences in my life and my work are always whomever I love. Whomever I love and am with most of the time, or whomever I remember most vividly. I think that's true of everyone, don't you?