The poet knows himself only on the condition that things resound in him, and that in him, at a single awakening, they and he come forth together out of sleep.

Poetry proceeds from the totality of man, sense, imagination, intellect, love, desire, instinct, blood and spirit together

We don't love qualities; we love a person; sometimes by reason of their defects as well as their qualities

A single idea, if it is right, saves us the labor of an infinity of experiences

Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy

A man of courage flees forward, in the midst of new things

The great and admirable strength of America consists in this, that America is truly the American people