“The aim of life is self-development.”

“DEAR DICK, At what time of life may a man think himself exempted from the necessity of sacrificing his repose to the punctilios of a contemptible world?”

— Tobias Smollett《The Expedition of Humphry Clinker》

“I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life.”

— Mary Rowlandson《Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson》

“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.”

— Jane Austen《Pride and Prejudice》

“The whole panorama of the world's life before the historic period, seemed to be born over again, and mine was the only human heart that beat in this unpeopled world!”

— Jules Verne《A Journey to the Centre of the Earth》

“As for yourself, death shall come to you from the sea, and your life shall ebb away very gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people shall bless you.”

— Homer《Odyssey》

“This gave me new life and spirits; and my heart burned within me, while I thought the time long till I obtained my freedom.”

— Olaudah Equiano《The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano》

“But here was a man who had never done anything but good in his life, and was at the bar of justice charged with crime merely because some cold-blooded mercenaries thought he was interfering with their business!”

— Arthur Cheney Train《By Advice of Counsel》

“His mind relieved from inquietude respecting his Sister, and his Spirits raised by the hope of soon restoring her to freedom, He now had time to give a few moments to love and to Antonia.”

— Matthew Gregory Lewis《The Monk》

“The old man had loved Undine with exceeding tenderness, and it was doubtful to his mind that the mere disappearance of his beloved child could be properly viewed as her death.”

— Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué《Undine》

“The answer is, that we must do good to our seeming and real good friends, and evil to our seeming and real evil enemies--good to the good, evil to the evil.”

— Plato《The Republic of Plato》

“You wrong me, wearied out with thought and grieving As though the whole world's sorrow eat my heart, I come to gaze upon your face believing Its beauty is as ointment to the smart.”

— Adela Florence Nicolson《India's Love Lyrics》

“But nature itself, she thought, would be no better than a vast blank, if the mind of the observer did not supply it with an animating soul.”

— William Godwin《Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman》