“I am writing a book about the Crusades so dull that I can scarcely write it.”

“The pilgrim is humble and devout, and human, and charitable, and ready to smile and admire; therefore, he should comprehend the whole of his way, the people in it, and the hills and the clouds, and the habits of the various cities.”

“An institute run with such knavish imbecility that if it were not the work of God it would not last a fortnight.”

“Every major question in history is a religious question. It has more effect in molding life than nationalism or a common language.”