Charles Dickens

I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.

Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.

Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.

It is a pleasant thing to reflect upon, and grand to know, that every man has a right to be conceited till he is successful.

What is the worth of anything, unless it is a joy to you?

It is a wonderful thing to be a man, and to have a heart, and to feel.

I know enough of the world now, to have almost lost the capacity of being much surprised by anything.

There are books of all kinds, and books of no kind; books that are books, and books that are not books.

The true character of a man is not to be judged by what he does when he is with his friends, but by what he does when he is alone.

Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy.

I have been in the gayest company, and have been the most wretched of all.

The world is full of people who are always looking for something, and never finding it.

It is a principle of the human mind to resist what is forced upon it.

Every man has his own sorrows, which he keeps hidden from the world.

It is a great thing to be a man, and to have a heart, and to feel.

The law is an ass—a idiot.

There are some people who, if they don't feel at least a little unhappy, are not quite sure that they are alive.

Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style of architecture he will himself choose.

It is a pleasant thing to reflect upon, and furnishes a pretty illustration of the little progress that has been made since the days of the patriarchs, that a good many people are still very much of the opinion that the world is to be governed by a rod.