God will excuse our prayers for ourselves whenever we are prevented from them by being occupied in such good works as to entitle us to the prayers of others.

Some read to think, these are rare; some to write, these are common; and some read to talk, and these form the great majority.

None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.

He that dies a martyr proves that he was not a knave, but by no means that he was not a fool.

Extemporaneous and oral harangues will always have this advantage over those that are read from a in manuscript: every burst of eloquence or spark of genius they may contain, however studied they may have been beforehand, will appear to the audience to be the effect of the sudden inspiration of talent.

No metaphysician ever felt the deficiency of language so much as the grateful.

The greatest miracle that the Almighty could perform would be to make a bad man happy, even in heaven; he must unparadise that blessed place to accomplish it. In its primary signification, all vice--that is, all excess--brings its own punishment even here.