Letters

Pg. 2—“I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven, for nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose—a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”
Pg. 8—“But success shall crown my endeavors. Wherefore not? Thus far I have gone, tracing a secure way over the pathless seas, the very stars themselves being witnesses and testimonies of my triumph. Why not still proceed over the untamed yet obedient element? What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?”
Pg. 12—“‘One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race.’”
Pg. 13—“‘Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me: let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!’”

1-7

Pg. 25—“I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few beside myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature.”

Pg. 33—“...chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose.”

Pg. 34—“‘...I have made it my peculiar study; but at the same time I have not neglected the other branches of science. A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to that department of human knowledge alone. If your wish is to become really a man of science, and not merely a petty experimentalist, I should advise you to apply to every branch of natural philosophy, including mathematics.’”

Pg. 35—“From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, became nearly my sole occupation.”

Pg. 35—“Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries, which I hoped to make.”

Pg. 39—“I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.”

8-16

Pg. 91—“I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep. I thought of the occurrences of the day. What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but dared not. I remembered too well the treatment I had suffered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and resolved, whatever course of conduct I might hereafter think it right to pursue, that for the present I would remain quietly in my hovel, watching, and endeavoring to discover the motives which influenced their actions.”

Pg. 95—“My mode of life in my hovel was uniform. During the morning, I attended the motions of the cottagers; and when they were dispersed in various occupations I slept: the remainder of the day was spent in observing my friends.”

Pg. 99—“My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language...”

Pg. 108—“The possession of these treasures gave me extreme delight; I now continually studied and exercised my mind upon these histories, whilst my friends were employed in their ordinary occupations.”

Pg. 112—“My attention, at this time, was solely directed towards my plan of introducing myself into the cottage of my protectors.”

17-24

Pg. 125—“‘...Oh! My creator, make me happy; let me feel gratitude towards you for one benefit! Let me see that I excite the sympathy of some existing thing; do not deny me my request!’”

Pg. 131—“My promise fulfilled, the monster would depart for ever. Or (so my fond fancy imaged) some accident might meanwhile occur to destroy him, and put an end to my slavery forever.”

Pg. 146—“‘I have endured toil and misery: I left Switzerland with you; I crept along the shores of the Rhine, among its willow islands, and over the summits of its hills. I have dwelt many months in the heaths of England, and among the deserts of Scotland. I have endured incalculable fatigue, and cold, and hunger; do you dare destroy my hopes?’”

Pg. 184—“Yet at the idea that the fiend should live and be triumphant, my rage and vengeance returned, and, like a mighty tide, overwhelmed every other feeling.”

Pg. 193—“‘...I know where this thirst for vengeance may end. Miserable himself, that he may render no other wretched he ought to die...’”