“We now know most things that can be measured in this world, except the bounds of human ambition!”

“Solitude, isolation, are painful things, and beyond human endurance.”

“We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.”

“And this accident came about...?"Through nature's unpredictability not man's incapacity. No errors were committed in our maneuvers. Nevertheless, we can't prevent a loss of balance from taking its toll. One may defy human laws, but no one can withstand the laws of nature.”

“The human mind delights in grand conceptions of supernatural beings.”

“Before all masters, necessity is the one most listened to, and who teaches the best.”

“Ah!" I cried, springing up. "But no! no! My uncle shall never know it. He would insist upon doing it too. He would want to know all about it. Ropes could not hold him, such a determined geologist as he is! He would start, he would, in spite of everything and everybody, and he would take me with him, and we should never get back. No, never! never!"My over-excitement was beyond all description.”