As a general rule, people who flagrantly pretend to anything are the reverse of that which they pretend to. A man who sets up for a saint is sure to be a sinner; and a man who boasts that he is a sinner is sure to have some feeble, maudlin, snivelling bit of saintship about him which is enough to make him a humbug.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonRevenge is a common passion; it is the sin of the uninstructed. The savage deems it noble;but the religion of Christ, which is the sublime civilizer, emphatically condemns it. Why? Because religion ever seeks to ennoble man; and nothing so debases him as revenge.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonHappiness and virtue rest upon each other; the best are not only the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron LyttonHe who writes prose builds his temple to Fame in rubble; he who writes verses builds it in granite.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton