"An ancient custom obtains force of nature...." - Quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Any man may make a mistake; none but a fool will stick to it. Second thoughts are best as the proverb says.[Lat., Cujusvis hominis est errare; nullius, nisi insipientis, in errore perseverae. Posteriores enim cogitationes (ut aiunt) sapientiores solent esse.]”

“For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men worked and died, the essence and quintessence of their lives.”

“As in the case of wines that improve with age, the oldest friendships ought to be the most delightful.”

“Parents fear the destruction of natural affection in their children. What is this natural principle so liable to decay? Habit is a second nature, which destroys the first. Why is not custom nature? I suspect that this nature itself is but a first custom, as custom is a second nature.”

“Custom is petrification, nothing but dynamite can dislodge it for a century.”

“The security of Society lies in custom and unconscious instinct, and the basis of the stability of Society, as a healthy organism, is the complete absence of any intelligence amongst its members.”

“A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors”

“Where there are large powers with little ambition... nature may be said to have fallen short of her purposes.”

“The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders At our quaint spirits.”