I know no man who feels deeper disgust than I do at the ambition, avarice, and profligacy of the priesthood, as well because every one of these vices is odious in itself, as because each of them separately and all of them together are utterly abhorrent in men making profession of a life dedicated to God.

The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident.

Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.

He who imitates what is evil always goes beyond the example that is set; on the contrary, he who imitates what is good always falls short.

Ambassadors are the eye and ear of states.

The affairs of this world are so shifting and depend on so many accidents, that it is hard to form any judgment concerning the future; nay, we see from experience that the forecasts even of the wise almost always turn out false.

Affairs that depend on many rarely succeed.