“Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.”

“Common sense is as rare as genius.”

“Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.”

“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.”

“Society is always taken by surprise at any new example of common sense.”

“brings domesticity and common sense, and that propriety which every man loves, directly into this hurly-burly, and makes every bully ashamed.”

“The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.”