Two things, well considered, would prevent many quarrels: first, to have it well ascertained whether we are not disputing about terms, rather than things; and, secondly, to examine whether that on which we differ is worth contending about.

The man of pleasure, by a vain attempt to be more happy than any man can be, is often more miserable than most men are.

Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.

Avarice has ruined more souls than extravagance.

The soundest argument will produce no more conviction in an empty head than the most superficial declamation; as a feather and a guinea fall with equal velocity in a vacuum.

God is as great in minuteness as He is in magnitude.

The society of dead authors has this advantage over that of the living: they never flatter us to our faces, nor slander us behind our backs, nor intrude upon our privacy, nor quit their shelves until we take them down.