During the Tertiary period the whole valley of Mexico was one great lake.

If you are a married man resident in Cuba, you cannot get a passport to go to the next town without your wife's permission in writing.

Even if severe wounds are given, the Indian has many chances in his favor, for his organization is somewhat different from that of white men, and he recovers easily from wounds that would kill any European outright.

Whenever anything disagreeable is happening in the country, Vera Cruz is sure to get its full share.

I am afraid the Spanish American has not always a very strict regard for truth.

Coughs seem very common here, especially among the children, though people look strong and healthy, but in the absence of proper statistics one cannot undertake to say whether the district is a healthy one or not.

The journey and excursions in Mexico which have originated the narrative and remarks contained in this volume were made in the months of March, April, May, and June of 1856, for the most part on horseback.

The plateau of Mexico is 8,000 feet high, and that of Puebla 9,000 feet.

Every one knows how the snow lies in the valleys of the Alps, forming a plain which slopes gradually downward towards the outlet Imagine such a valley ten miles across, with just such a sloping plain, not of snow but of earth.

At sunset we are rattling through the streets of the little town of Cordova.

Everything that is really Mexican is either Aztec or Spanish.

Taking it as a whole, Mexico is a grand city, and, as Cortes truly said, its situation is marvellous.

The interior of Mexico consists of a mass of volcanic rocks, thrust up to a great height above the sea-level.

One step outside the gate, and we are among the sand-hills that stretch for miles and miles round Vera Cruz.

The habit of building houses upon piles, which was first forced upon the people by the position they had chosen, was afterwards followed as a matter of taste, just as it is in Holland.

We are at last on the high lands of Mexico, the districts which at least three different races have chosen to settle in, neglecting the fertile country below.

There are even many huts built entirely of the universal aloe.

We were very kindly received by the English merchants to whom my companion had letters, and we set ourselves to learn what was the real state of things in Mexico.

During the Tertiary period the whole valley of Mexico was one great lake.

Aching all over, we reached level ground again, and Mr. Christy withdrew his claims, and agreed that no road anywhere else could possibly be so bad as a Mexican road; a decision which later experiences only served to confirm.

There was no romance about the mosquitos, however.

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.

President Obama and members of his administration constantly express rage and anger over events totally within their control. It's an odd and unsettling fact of American life that so many Americans seem to think that such expressions of frustration should substitute for actual competence.

The expansion of choice has become an explosion of choice.

I'm personally fed up with people seeing women and girls cast as victims.

I can say exactly what I feel about any issue, and I'm going to do that.

Boredom and fatigue are great historical forces.

To observations which ourselves we make, we grow more partial for th' observer's sake.

First comes an idea. Then, characters begin to evolve out of the landscape of that idea. And then, finally, characters dominate: plot is simply a function of what these people might do or be. Everything has to flow from their personalities; otherwise it will not be emotionally engaging, or plausible.

I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen.

I think getting married gave me a focus. It gave me a focus and direction I want to have in my life. And I think having another person that you make such a purposeful bond with has given me the opportunity to see how that can be with all the other aspects of my life.

The monsters are in your own head.

Individual people shouldn't be fearful, because by and large our government, the federal government - people always talk; obviously, they don't trust the feds, whatever. The federal government and local communities have done a pretty good job at keeping us safe.

It is dreadful the way all the comfortable, happy people stay off to themselves.

Do not get lost in the flow of reality.

What makes anyone think that I'm any good?

You can believe something really hard, faith says, "and still be wrong".

I feel like fashion should not happen in the morning.

Criminals should be punished not fed pastries.

Part of company culture is path-dependent - it's the lessons you learn along the way.

Doing a thing by law, or according to law, is only carrying the law into execution. And punishing a man by, or according to, the sentence or judgment of his peers, is only carrying that sentence or judgment into execution.

My singing led into acting, and that is how I discovered acting.

There must be a limit as to how much care to be given and for how long. If over a reasonable period of time then its no longer strength but being exploited.

We are always taking a hard look at how life was in the past in coming up with interesting subject matter for our various series, and remembering how much I used to want an encyclopedia as a kid made me realize wanting a set is very unlikely for teens today, and that conversation would be interesting.

An insatiable appetite for glory leads to sacrifice and death but innate instinct leads to self preservation and life.