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.

If a book really wants the patronage of a great name, it is a bad book; and if it be a good book, it wants it not.

Pity a thing often avowed, seldom felt; hatred is a thing often felt, seldom avowed.

That which we acquire with the most difficulty we retain the longest; as those who have earned a fortune are usually more careful of it than those who have inherited one.

There are two way of establishing a reputation, one to be praised by honest people and the other to be accused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the first one, because it will always be accompanied by the latter.

Pure truth, like pure gold, has been found unfit for circulation because men have discovered that it is far more convenient to adulterate the truth than to refine themselves.

Some are cursed with the fullness of satiety; and how can they bear the ills of life when its very pleasures fatigue them?