When any practice has become the fixed rule of the society in which we live, it is always wise to adhere to that rule, unless it call upon us to do something that is actually wrong. One should not offend the prejudices of the world, even if one is quite sure that they are prejudices.

Fortune favors the brave; and the world certainly gives the most credit to those who are able to give an unlimited credit to themselves.

The greatest mistake any man ever made is to suppose that the good things of the world are not worth the winning.

Beware of creating tedium!

The habit of writing clearly soon comes to the writer who is a severe critic to himself.

Credit is a matter so subtle in its essence, that, as it may be obtained almost without reason, so, without reason, may it be made to melt away.

It has now become the doctrine of a large clan of politicians that political honesty is unnecessary, slow, subversive of a man's interests, and incompatible with quick onward movement.