Reflection is lost sight of; philanthropy is all the rage.

I assert that for a man to devote himself to a reflective life, that is, in the eyes of the world, an indolent one, is often a great sacrifice, and even on that account, if not essentially, valuable.

Philanthropy is generally distressing, often offensive, sometimes disastrous.
Nothing, in this predetermined world, fails of its effect, as nothing is without its cause.

There is a call to reflection which a man must follow, and his life then becomes an integral link in the chain of circumstance.

Any intentional life affects the world; it is only the vague drifting existences that pass it by.
The subject of this memoir was, as the world counts reputation, unknown.