"A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations"

"It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice"

"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"

"I don't know which is more discouraging, literature or chickens"

"I said when I came into office that I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a good democrat"

"Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few"

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime"

"Great effort from great motives is the best definition of a happy life"

"Now that the House of Commons is trying to become useful, it does a great deal of harm"

"The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it's dead for you"

"The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation"