“He was persuaded he could know no happiness but in the society of one with whom he could for ever indulge the melancholy that had taken possession of his soul.”

“Manfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda. Conrad, the son, was three years younger, a homely youth, sickly, and of no promising disposition; yet he was the darling of his father, who never showed any symptoms of affection to Matilda. Manfred had contracted a marriage for his son with the Marquis of Vicenza’s daughter, Isabella; and she had already been delivered by her guardians into the hands of Manfred, that he might celebrate the wedding as soon as Conrad’s infirm state of health would permit.”

“Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not. A sense of humour was provided to console him for what he is.”

“The gentle maid, whose hapless tale,these melancholy pages speak;say, gracious lady, shall she failTo draw the tear a down from thy cheek?”

“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.”

“In science, mistakes always precede the truth.”

“When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun by nettles.”