The fabric of a mighty state, which has been reared by the labours of successive ages, could not be overturned by the misfortune of a single day, if the fatal power of the imagination did not exaggerate the real measure of the calamity.

History, in fact, is no more than a list of the crimes of humanity, human follies and accidents

The value of money has been settled by general consent to express our wants and our property, as letters were invented to express our ideas; and both these institutions, by giving a more active energy to the powers and passions of human nature, have contributed to multiply the objects they were designed to represent.

The awful mysteries of the Christian faith and worship were concealed from the eyes of strangers, and even of catechumens, with an affected secrecy, which served to excite their wonder and curiosity.

In the end, they wanted security more than they wanted freedom.

We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contest, and we must win.

The difference of language, dress, and manners . . . severs and alienates the nations of the globe.