Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul. - Henry van Dyke

For real company and friendship, there is nothing outside of the animal kingdom that is comparable to a river.

The world is full of warfare 'twixt the evil and the good;
I watched the battle from afar as one who understood
The shouting and confusion, the bloody, blundering fight—
How few there are that see it clear, how few that wage it right!

Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.