Mankind have such a deep stake in inward illumination, that there is much to be said by the hermit or monk in defence of his life of thought and prayer.
Prudence is the virtue of the senses. It is the science of appearances. It is the outmost action of the inward life.
The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other.
The difference between talent and genius is in the direction of the current: in genius, it is from within outward; in talent from without inward.
It is doubtless a vice to turn one's eyes inward too much, but I am my own comedy and tragedy.