It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.

For the first time in his life, Mont Blanc for a moment looked to him what it was - a chaos of anarchic and purposeless forces - and he needed days of repose to see it clothe itself again with the illusions of his senses, the white purity of its snows, the splendor of its light, and the infinity of its heavenly peace. Nature was kind; Lake Geneva was beautiful beyond itself, and the Alps put on charms real as terrors.

I probably complicate things unnecessarily now just to give the illusion of professionalism.

Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship.

The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it.