“Martyrdom, sir, is what these people like: it is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.”

“The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time.”

“The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself.”

“...a man of great common sense and good taste, meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage.”

“If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.”

“Self-sacrifice enables us to sacrifice other people without blushing.”

“People do not become great by doing great things. They do great things because they are great.”