People who have read a good deal rarely make great discoveries. I do not say this in excuse of laziness, but because invention presupposes an extensive independent contemplation of things.

A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it an apostle is hardly likely to look out.

As soon as you know a man to be blind, you imagine that you can see it from his back.

The proof that man is the noblest of all creatures is that no other creature has ever denied it.

Just as there are polysyllabic words that say very little, so there are also monosyllabic words of infinite meaning.

Nothing can contribute more to peace of soul than the lack of any opinion whatever.

The highest level than can be reached by a mediocre but experienced mind is a talent for uncovering the weaknesses of those greater than itself.