He is happy whom circumstances suit his temper; but he Is more excellent who suits his temper to any circumstance.

It is certain that the easy and obvious philosophy will always, with the generality of mankind, have preference above the accurate.

It were better, never to look beyond the present material world. By supposing it to contain the principle of its order within itself, we really assert it to be God; and the sooner we arrive at that divinity, the better.

The stability of modern governments above the ancient, and the accuracy of modern philosophy, have improved, and probably will still improve, by similar gradations.

Scholastic learning and polemical divinity retarded the growth of all true knowledge.

A pleasant comedy, which paints the manners of the age, and exposes a faithful picture of nature, is a durable work, and is transmitted to the latest posterity. But a system, whether physical or metaphysical, commonly owes its success to its novelty; and is no sooner canvassed with impartiality than its weakness is discovered.

The Crusades - the most signal and most durable monument of human folly that has yet appeared in any age or nation.