Agnes Repplier

“The soul of a nation is renewed by the austerity of its great ideals.”

“There are few things more wearisome in a fairly fatiguing life than the monotonous repetition of a phrase which catches and holds the public fancy.”

“A kitten is the most irresistible comedian in the world.”

“It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought.”

“An historian without political passions is as rare as a wasp without a sting.”

“There is an optimism which nobly anticipates the eventual triumph of great moral laws, and there is an optimism which cheerfully tolerates unworthiness.”

“It is impossible to withhold education from the receptive mind, as it is impossible to force it upon the unreasoning.”

“There is nothing in the world so enjoyable as a thorough-going monomania.”

“We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.”

“It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.”

“The gayety of life is grimly earnest.”

“It takes time and trouble to persuade ourselves that the things we want to do are the things we ought to do.”

“The vanity of dogs is sober and laudable, that of cats is nimble and playful.”

“For my own part, I believe that the moral popularization of science is a desirable thing, but I am not sure that it is a possible one.”

“History is not a branch of literature. The facts of history are not truths, but things that are true.”

“People who cannot recognize a palpable absurdity are very much in the way of civilization.”