I've never known any trouble than an hour's reading didn't assuage.

The young should early be trained to bear being left alone; for it is a source of happiness and peace of mind.

Whatever torch we kindle, and whatever space it may illuminate, our horizon will always remain encircled by the depth of night.

Always to see the general in the particular is the very foundation of genius.

The fruits of Christianity were religious wars, butcheries, crusades, inquisitions, extermination of the natives of America, and the introduction of African slaves in their place.

Many undoubtedly owe their good fortune to the circumstance that they possess a pleasing smile with which they win hearts. Yet these hearts would do better to beware and to learn from Hamlet's tables that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.

When you look back on your life, it looks as though it were a plot, but when you are into it, it's a mess: just one surprise after another. Then, later, you see it was perfect.