When a nation gives birth to a man who is able to produce a great thought, another is born who read more

When a nation gives birth to a man who is able to produce a great thought, another is born who is able to understand and admire it

You always admire what you really don't understand.

You always admire what you really don't understand.

Heroes themselves had fallen behind!
--Whene'er he went before.

Heroes themselves had fallen behind!
--Whene'er he went before.

here is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never yet occurred that they, read more

here is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has never yet occurred that they, too, might be admired some day.

Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty billows of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, read more

Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty billows of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, and pass themselves by.

Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities.

Some people are molded by their admirations, others by their hostilities.

Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it be still fed read more

Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it be still fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a perpetual succession of miracles rising into view.

The king himself has follow'd her
When she has walk'd before.

The king himself has follow'd her
When she has walk'd before.

The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread. . . . The least energizing emotion read more

The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread. . . . The least energizing emotion to write out of is admiration . . . because the basic feeling that goes with admiration is a passive contemplative mood.