Let Harlequin be taken with a fit of the colic, and his trappings will have to serve that mood too.

Man needs to know but little more than a lobster in order to catch him in his traps.

I make it my business to extract from Nature what ever nutriment she can furnish me.... I milk the sky and the earth.

I will come to you, my friend, when I no longer need you. Then you will find a palace, not an almshouse.

Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.

Homer and Shakespeare and Milton and Marvell and Wordsworth are but the rustling of leaves and crackling of twigs in the forest, and there is not yet the sound of any bird. The Muse has never lifted up her voice to sing.

To say that a man is your Friend, means commonly no more than this, that he is not your enemy. Most contemplate only what would be the accidental and trifling advantages of Friendship, as that the Friend can assist in time of need by his substance, or his influence, or his counsel. Even the utmost goodwill and harmony and practical kindness are not sufficient for Friendship, for Friends do not live in harmony merely, as some say, but in melody.