But I do not remember ever having seen a newspaper in the house; and, most certainly, that privation did not render us less industrious, happy, or free.

You never know what you can do till you try.

It is by attempting to reach the top at a single leap that so much misery is caused in the world.

Sit down to write what you have thought, and not to think what you shall write.

If the people of Sheffield could only receive a tenth part of what their knives sell for by retail in America, Sheffield might pave its streets with silver.

Men fail much oftener from want of perseverance than from want of talent.

Never esteem men on account of their riches or their station. Respect goodness, find it where you may.

Nothing is so well calculated to produce a death-like torpor in the country as an extended system of taxation and a great national debt.

The power which money gives is that of brute force; it is the power of the bludgeon and the bayonet.

I defy you to agitate any fellow with a full stomach.

Men of integrity are generally pretty obstinate, in adhering to an opinion once adopted.

I threw my hands in the air and said show me something.He said, "if you dare come a little closer".

Our focus should be on making the most of our own lives, regardless of whether we start at the bottom or the top- not on envying the advantages and achievements of others.

I've always liked the classic "young adult" writers like Mark Twain, Jack London, Roald Dahl, Charles Dickens. They write so clearly, and they know how to entertain.

I like fashion to go down to the street, but I can't accept that it should originate there.

Half of life is up - the other half is dealing with it.

Apologies have more power than most of us realize to restore strained relationships, free us from vengeful impulses, and create possibilities for growth.

My grandmother could never have written a memoir, so 'The Gravedigger's Daughter' is a homage to her life, and to the lives of other young women of her generation, which are so rarely articulated.

Nothing improves your writing, I think, as much as your keeping writing.

I'm very much a believer in knowing what it is that you love doing so you can do a great deal of it.

To be good, we must do good; and by doing good we take a sure means of being good, as the use and exercise of the muscles increase their power.