Their poverty secured their freedom, since our desires and our possessions are the strongest fetters of despotism.

The love of action is a principle of a much stronger and more doubtful nature. It often leads to anger, to ambition, and to revenge; but when it is guided by the sense of propriety and benevolence, it becomes the parent of every virtue, and, if those virtues are accompanied with equal abilities, a family, a state, or an empire may be indebted for their safety and prosperity to the undaunted courage of a single man.

[The monks'] minds were inaccessible to reason or mercy . . .

In old age the consolation of hope is reserved for the tenderness of parents, who commence a new life in their children, the faith of enthusiasts, who sing hallelujahs above the clouds; and the vanity of authors, who presume the immortality of their name and writings.

It is impossible to reduce, or, at least, to hold a distant country against the wishes and efforts of its inhabitants.

[Personal] industry must be faint and languid, which is not excited by the sense of personal interest.

A reformer should be exempt from the suspicion of interest, and he must possess the confidence and esteem of those whom he proposes to reclaim.