In how large a proportion of creatures is existence composed of one ruling passion, the most agonizing of all sensations--fear.

Evening is the delight of virtuous age; it seems an emblem of the tranquil close of busy life--serene, placid, and mild, with the impress of its great Creator stamped upon it; it spreads its quiet wings over the grave, and seems to promise that all shall be peace beyond it.

A mind once cultivated will not lie fallow for half an hour.

Love is rarely a hypocrite; but hate--how detect and how guard against it! It lurks where you least expect it; it is created by causes that you can the least foresee; and civilization multiplies its varieties, whilst it favors its disguise.

The public man needs but one patron, namely, the lucky moment.

Man hazards the condition and loses the virtues of a freeman, in proportion as he accustoms his thoughts to view without anguish or shame, his lapse into the bondage of debtor.

Power is so characteristically calm, that calmness in itself has the aspect of strength.