Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at the discretion of Mahomet; each revelation is suited to the emergencies of his policy or passion; and all contradiction is removed by the saving maxim that any text of Scripture is abrogated or modified by any subsequent passage.

To an active mind, indolence is more painful than labor.

My early and invincible love of reading I would not exchange for all the riches of India.

In the second century of the Christian era, the empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind.

Whenever the spirit of fanaticism, at once so credulous and so crafty, has insinuated itself into a noble mind, it insensibly corrodes the vital principles of virtue and veracity.

But the wisdom and authority of the legislator are seldom victorious in a contest with the vigilant dexterity of private interest.

Language is the leading principle which unites or separates the tribes of mankind.