Flattery is no more than what raises in a man's mind an idea of a preference which he has not.

But whoever is a genuine follower of Truth, keeps his eye steady upon his guide, indifferent whither he is led, provided that she is the leader.

Men have no right to put the well-being of the present generation wholly out of the question. Perhaps the only moral trust with any certainty in our hands is the care of our own time.

General rebellions and revolts of a whole people never were encouraged now or at any time. They are always provoked.

History consists, for the greater part, of the miseries brought upon the world by pride, ambition, avarice, revenge, lust, sedition, hypocrisy, ungoverned zeal, and all the train of disorderly appetite.

What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!

All men that are ruined, are ruined on the side of their natural propensities.