George William Curtis

“The test of a man is the fight he makes, the grit that he daily shows.”

“Sincerity is the luxury of old age.”

“A great and priceless thing is a new idea.”

“Character is the raw material of story.”

“Conscience is the most enlightened of all advisers.”

“Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye.”

“It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.”

“A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”

“The 'good old times' — all times when old are good.”

“The office of the scholar is to cheer, to raise, and to guide men by showing them facts amidst appearances.”

“Friendship, like the immortality of the soul, is too good to be believed.”

“Laws are commanded to hold their tongues among arms; and tribunals fall to the ground with the peace they are no longer able to uphold.”

“The leader for the time being, whoever he may be, is but an instrument, to be used until broken and then to be cast aside.”