Virtue and taste are nearly the same, for virtue is little more than active taste, and the most delicate affections of each combine in real love.

There is something in the ardour and ingenousness of youth, which is particularly pleasing to the contemplation of an old man, if his feelings have not been entirely corroded by the world.

Happiness arises in a state of peace, not of tumult.

To discover depravity in those whom we have loved, is one of the most exquisite tortures to a virtuous mind, and the conviction is often rejected before it is finally admitted.

There is some comfort in dying surrounded by one's children.

I wish that all those, who on this night are not merry enough to speak before they think, may ever after be grave enough to think before they speak!

A well-informed mind is the best security against the contagion of folly and vice. The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief, and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness. Store it with ideas, teach it the pleasure of thinking; and the temptations of the world without, will be counteracted by the gratifications derived from the world within.