We submit to the society of those that can inform us, but we seek the society of those whom we can inform. And men of genius ought not to be chagrined if they see themselves neglected. For when we communicate knowledge, we are raised in our own estimation; but when we receive it, we are lowered.

It is not until we have passed through the furnace that we are made to know how much dross there is in our composition.

Wars of opinion, as they have been the most destructive, are also the most disgraceful of conflicts.

A house may draw visitors, but it is the possessor alone that can detain them.

Few things are more agreeable to self-love than revenge, and yet no cause so effectually restrains us from revenge as self-love. And this paradox naturally suggests another; that the strength of the community is not unfrequently built upon the weakness of those individuals that compose it.

Attempts at reform, when they fail, strengthen despotism, as he that struggles tightens those cords he does not succeed in breaking.

Many books owe their success to the good memories of their authors and the bad memories of their readers.