"I sometimes think God allows Great Britain to be unprincipled for the good of mankind."

"Massachusetts women as a rule adhere too strongly to old-time conventions."

"Theology in general seems to me a substitution of human ingenuity for divine wisdom."

"When the unwelcome little unborn shall have seen the light my brain will be lightened, and I shall have a clearer mind. Thank God that even this weary nine months shall come to an end and leave me in possession of my own body and my own soul."

"God forgive me if I do wrong in following with ardor the strongest instincts of my nature."

"I shall stick to my resolution of writing always what I think no matter whom it offends."

"Marriage, like death, is a debt we owe to nature."

"I know not why there is such a melancholy feeling attached to the remembrance of past happiness, except that we fear that the future can have nothing so bright as the past."

"Boston is an oasis in the desert, a place where the larger proportion of people are loving, rational and happy."

"While your life is the true expression of your faith, whom can you fear?"

"Disarm, disarm. The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession."

"The blind must not only be fed and housed and cared for; they must learn to make thir lives useful to the community."

"Beneath all differences of doctrine or discipline there exists a fundamental agreement as to the simple, absolute essentials in religion."

"I am confirmed in my division of human energies. Ambitious people climb, but faithful people build."

"The strokes of the pen need deliberation as much as the sword needs swiftness."

"I take refuge in my books."

"How utterly are one's best thoughts invaded by this going out in society."

"The frozen ocean... of Boston life."