A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity. – Robert Hall
Rising health care spending occurs because it is beneficial, not a burden on the economy. – Robert Hall
In matters of conscience, first thoughts are best. In matters of prudence, last thoughts are best. – Robert Hall
Of all the species of literary composition, perhaps biography is the most delightful. The attention concentrated on one individual gives a unity to the materials of which it is composed, which is wanting in general history. – Robert Hall
Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden…. It is sad that Nature will play such tricks on us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. – Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks