William Penn

If there be three distinct and separate Persons, then three distinct and separate Substances. . . . And since the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God . . . then unless the Father, Son and Spirit are three distinct Nothings, they must be three distinct Substances, and consequently three distinct Gods.

Much reading is an oppression of the mind, and extinguishes the natural candle, which is the reason of so many senseless scholars in the world.

Let us then try what love can do to mend a broken world.

Sexes make no Difference; since in Souls there is none: And they are the Subjects of Friendship.

She is but half a wife that is not, nor is capable of being, a friend.

Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.

The first thing a great person does, is make us realize the insignificance of circumstance.

Often a certain abdication of prudence and foresight is an element of success.

Life is too precious to be spent in this weaving and unweaving of false impressions, and it is better to live quietly under some degree of misrepresentation than to attempt to remove it by the uncertain process of letter-writing.

Wit and Humor – if any difference, it is in duration – lightning and electric light. Same material, apparently; but one is vivid, and can do damage – the other fools along and enjoys elaboration.

And when a woman’s will is as strong as the man’s who wants to govern her, half her strength must be concealment.

A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature and commerce are united, they make a respectable man.

The surest poison is time.

Our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them; for those experiences have left an indelible impression, and we are ever and anon reminded of them.

I would not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.

Pity the man who has a character to support – it is worse than a large family – he is silent poor indeed.

Oaths are but words, and words are but wind.

Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.

Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run. Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.

Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried, or childless men.

Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. Society acquires new arts, and loses old instincts.