Henry Ward Beecher

We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.

Good nature is worth more than knowledge, more than money, more than honor, to the persons who possess it.

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy.

It's good to like yourself, and that only comes from hard work, from doing. But vanity is dangerous; it can trip you badly.

The splendid empire of Charles the Fifth was erected upon the grave of liberty.

A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs.