It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

The situation of the general government, if it can be called a government, is shaken to its foundation, and liable to be overturned by every blast.

I am not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction.

An aching head and trembling limbs, which are the inevitable effects of drinking, disincline the hands from work.

There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

To point out the importance of circumspection in your conduct, it may be proper to observe that a good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous.

True friendship is a plant of slow growth.