The first duty of man is to conquer fear he must get rid of it, he cannot act till then. – Thomas Carlyle
No good book or good thing of any kind shows it best face at first. No the most common quality of in a true work of art that has excellence and depth, is that at first sight it produces a certain disappointment. – Thomas Carlyle
War is a quarrel between two thieves too cowardly to fight their own battle. – Thomas Carlyle
Man is, properly speaking, based upon hope, he has no other possession but hope this world of his is emphatically the place of hope. – Thomas Carlyle
The universal human laws – need, love for the beloved, fear, hunger, periodic exaltation, the kindness that rises up naturally in the absence of hunger/fear/pain – are constant, predictable, reliable, universal, and are merely ornamented with the details of local culture. – George Saunders