Sometimes there are accidents in our lives the skillful extrication from which demands a little folly.

We may say of agreeableness, as distinct from beauty, that it consists in a symmetry of which we know not the rules, and a secret conformity of the features to each other, as also to the air and complexion of the person.

Our actions are like the terminations of verses, which we rhyme as we please.

Pity is often a reflection of our own evils in the ills of others. It is a delicate foresight of the troubles into which we may fall.

It is as common for tastes to change as it is uncommon for traits of character.

Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them.

Satire is at once the most agreeable and most dangerous of mental qualities. It always pleases when it is refined, but we always fear those who use it too much; yet satire should be allowed when unmixed with spite, and when the person satirized can join in the satire.