James Wood, comp. Dictionary of Quotations. 1899.
Sir J. Stephen
He who will deaden one half of his nature to invigorate the other half will become at best a distorted prodigy.
Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first animate exertion, if dwelt upon too intently, will usurp the place of the stern reality; and noble objects will be contemplated, not for their own inherent worth, but on account of the day-dreams they engender. Thus hope, aided by imagination, makes one man a hero, another a somnambulist, and a third a lunatic; while it renders them all enthusiasts.
Wisdom may be the ultimate arbiter, but is seldom the immediate agent in human affairs.
Zeal for uniformity attests the latent distrusts, not the firm convictions, of the zealot. In proportion to the strength of our self-reliance is our indifference to the multiplication of suffrages in favour of our own judgment.