Things often offer themselves to our mind in a more finished form in the very first thought, than we might have made them by muchart and study.

There is scarcely any man sufficiently clever to appreciate all the evil he does.

Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.

In all professions each affects a look and an exterior to appear what he wishes the world to believe that he is. Thus we may say that the whole world is made up of appearances.

Passion often makes fools of the wisest men and gives the silliest wisdom.

Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect.

Men have written in the most convincing manner to prove that death is no evil, and this opinion has been confirmed on a thousand celebrated occasions by the weakest of men as well as by heroes. Even so I doubt whether any sensible person has ever believed it, and the trouble men take to convince others as well as themselves that they do shows clearly that it is no easy undertaking.