A town, before it can be plundered and, deserted, must first be taken; and in this particular Venus has borrowed a law from her consort Mars. A woman that wishes to retain her suitor must keep him in the trenches; for this is a siege which the besieger never raises for want of supplies, since a feast is more fatal to love than a fast, and a surfeit than a starvation. Inanition may cause it to die a slow death, but repletion always destroys it by a sudden one.
Charles Caleb ColtonDeath is like thunder in two particulars; we are alarmed, at the sound of it; and it is formidable only from that which preceded it.
Charles Caleb ColtonNo two things differ more than hurry and despatch. Hurry is the mark of a weak mind; despatch of a strong one.
Charles Caleb ColtonThat an author's work is the mirror of his mind is a position that has led to very false conclusions. If Satan himself were to write a book it would be in praise of virtue, because the good would purchase it for use, and the bad for ostentation.
Charles Caleb ColtonButler compared the tongues of these eternal talkers to race-horses, which go the faster the less weight they carry.
Charles Caleb ColtonHonesty is not only the deepest policy, but the highest wisdom; since, however difficult it may be for integrity to get on, it is a thousand times more difficult for knavery to get off; and no error is more fatal than that of those who think that Virtue has no other reward because they have heard that she is her own.
Charles Caleb Colton