“If you really want to judge the character of a man, look not at his great performances. Watch a man do his most common actions.”

“The coward is an object to be pitied.”

“Calm and silent and steady work, and no newspaper humbug, no name-making, you must always remember.”

“One link in a chain explains the infinite chain.”

“Compared to the coward that never made the attempt, he is a hero.”

“Cause and effect are two sides of one fact.”

“The astronomers said, 'Give us matter and a little motion and we will construct the universe. It is not enough that we should have matter, we must also have a single impulse, one shove to launch the mass and generate the harmony of the centrifugal and centripetal forces.' ... There is no end to the consequences of the act. That famous aboriginal push propagates itself through all the balls of the system, and through every atom of every ball.”

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