The same sun which gilds all nature, and exhilarates the whole creation, does not shine upon disappointed ambition.

The more accurately we search into the human mind, the stronger traces we everywhere find of his wisdom who made it.

The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.

It is by bribing, not so often by being bribed, that wicked politicians bring ruin on mankind. Avarice is a rival to the pursuits of many.

He who calls in the aid of an equal understanding doubles his own; and he who profits by a superior understanding raises his powers to a level with the height of the superior standing he unites with.

Vice itself lost half its evil, by losing all its grossness.

I am convinced that we have a degree of delight, and that no small one, in the real misfortunes and pain of others