The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.

Laughter is a bodily exercise, precious to Health

Men in general desire the good and not merely what their fathers had.

A state of the soul is either (1) an emotion, (2) a capacity, or (3) a disposition; virtue therefore must be one of these three things.

The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances.

The law is reason unaffected by desire.

A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.