It is a wise thing to be polite; consequently, it is a stupid thing to be rude. To make enemies by unnecessary and willful incivility, is just as insane a proceeding as to set your house on fire. For politeness is like a counter--an avowedly false coin, with which it is foolish to be stingy.

If a man sets out to hate all the miserable creatures he meets, he will not have much energy left for anything else; whereas he can despise them, one and all, with the greatest ease.

The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind; the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.

Knowledge is to certain extent a second existence.

Human life must be some form of mistake.

Reading is equivalent to thinking with someone else's head instead of with one's own.

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.