All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity, that the dry, shriveled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut.

I wished to tell the truth, for truth always conveys its own moral to those who are able to receive it.

I cannot love a man who cannot protect me.

To tell you the truth, I'm surprised we won. I thought Grand Ledge would win.

... it is the purpose of this history to trace not the mere outlines of a life but the inner plan, not the external markings but the secret soul.

I became quite taken over by Johnson's personality at some points while writing the biography, and since I went straight on to The Closed Circle afterwards, I did sometimes feel I could hear him whispering in my ear while I was working on it.