We should not so much esteem our poverty as a misfortune, were it not that the world treats it so much as a crime

Pleasure and pain spring not so much from the nature of things, as from our manner of considering them. Pleasure, especially, is never an invariable effect of particular circumstances.

If one is not virtuous he becomes vicious.

Living with a saint is more grueling than being one.

The knowledge beyond all other knowledge is the knowledge how to excuse.

There is great beauty in going through life without anxiety or fear. Half our fears are baseless, and the other half discreditable.

Genuine religion is matter of feeling rather than matter of opinion.