Great Throughts Treasury

"On the 17th of May, the Delos put out to sea. I was immediately affected with sea-sickness, which, however, lasted but a short time. I remained on deck constantly, forcing myself to exercise."

"Patiently and with industry did I apply myself to study, for although I felt the impossibility of giving life to my productions, I did not abandon the idea of representing nature."

"One day I caught four Dolphins, how much I have gazed at these beautiful creatures... as they changed their hue in twenty varieties of richest arrangement of tints."

"Poor France, thy fine climate, rich vineyards, and the wishes of the learned avail nothing; thou art a destitute beggar, and not the powerful friend thou wert represented to me."

"Reader, persons who have never witnessed a hurricane, such as not unfrequently desolates the sultry climates of the south, can scarcely form an idea of their terrific grandeur. One would think that, not content with laying waste all on land, it must needs sweep the waters of the shallows quite dry to quench its thirst."

"Thank God it has rained all day. I say thank God, though rain is no rarity, because it is the duty of every man to be thankful for whatever happens by the will of the Omnipotent Creator; yet it was not so agreeable to any of my party as a fine day would have been."

"Surrounded by all the members of my dear family, enjoying the affection of numerous friends, who have never abandoned me, and possessing a sufficient share of all that contributes to make life agreeable, I lift my grateful eyes towards the Supreme Being and feel that I am happy."

"The best recommendation I can have is my own talents, and the fruits of my own labors, and what others will not do for me, I will try and do for myself."

"The Carrion Crow and Turkey-Buzzard possess great power of recollection, so as to recognize at a great distance a person who has shot at them, and even the horse on which he rides."

"The fact is I am growing old too fast, alas! I feel it, and yet work I will, and may God grant me life to see the last plate of my mammoth work finished."

"The eggers destroy all the eggs that are sat upon, to force the birds to lay fresh eggs, and by robbing them regularly compel them to lay until nature is exhausted, and so but few young ones are raised."

"The gay bunting erects his white crest, and gives utterance to the joy he feels in the presence of his brooding mate; the willow grouse on the rock crows his challenge aloud; each floweret, chilled by the night air, expands its pure petals; the gentle breeze shakes from the blades of grass the heavy dewdrops."

"The Golden Eagle, which has universally been considered as a bird of most extraordinary powers of flight, is in my estimation little more than a sluggard, though its wings are long and ample."

"The Fur Company may be called the exterminating medium of these wild and almost uninhabitable regions, which cupidity or the love of money alone would induce man to venture into. Where can I now go and find nature undisturbed?"

"The varying modes of flight exhibited by our diurnal birds of prey have always been to me a subject of great interest, especially as by means of them I have found myself enabled to distinguish one species from another, to the farthest extent of my power of vision."

"The Purchasing of Too Many goods sold on credit of course Lost, reduced us-Divided us."

"The mercantile business did not suit me."

"The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those who sang the best."

"The worse my drawings were, the more beautiful did the originals appear."

"There is the morass, wherein you plunge up to your knees, or the walking over the stubborn, dwarfish shrubbery, whereby one treads down the forests of Labrador; and the unexpected bunting or sylvia which perchance, and indeed as if by chance alone, you now and then see flying before you, or hear singing from the ground creeping plant."

"There is but one kind of love; God is love, and all his creatures derive theirs from his; only it is modified by the different degrees of intelligence in different beings and creatures."

"This Place saw My best days, My Happiest, My Wife having blessed me with Your Brother Woodhouse... I Calculated, to Live and died in Comfort, Our Business Was good of course We agreed."

"To be a good draftsman was to me a blessing."

"To my Lucy I now offer myself with my stock, wares and chattels and all the devotedness of heart attached to such an enthusiastic being as I am."

"To have been torn from the study would have been as death; my time was entirely occupied with art."

"Travelling through the breeding places of our species is far from being as interesting to me as it is to inspect the breeding places of the feathery tribes of our country."

"Well, I heard he liked to eat old wives' eggs."

"Who is the stranger... that can form an adequate conception of the extent of its primeval woods-of the glory of those columnar trunks that for centuries have waved in the breeze?"

"When, for the first time... I left my father, and all the dear friends of my youth, to cross the great ocean... my heart sunk within me... The lingering hours were spent in deep sorrow... My affections were with those I had left behind, and the world seemed to me a great wilderness."

"To repay evils with kindness is the religion I was taught to practice, and this will forever be my rule."

"What! Have I come here to mimic nature in her grandest enterprise - to add my caricature of one of the wonders of the world to those which I see here? No - I give up the idea as a vain attempt."

"Would it be possible that I should not in any degree succeed? I can scarcely think so. Ah delusive hope, how much further wilt thou lead me?"

"You have seen a poor old man."