The discoveries which we make abroad are special and particular; those which we make at home are general and significant. The further off, the nearer the surface. The nearer home, the deeper.

If a man is alive, there is always danger that he may die, though the danger must be allowed to be less in proportion as he is dead-and-alive to begin with. A man sits as many risks as he runs.

That so many are ready to live by luck, and so get the means of commanding the labor of others less lucky, without contributing any value to society! And that is called enterprise! I know of no more startling development of the immorality of trade, and all the common modes of getting a living.

As long as there is satire, the poet is, as it were, particeps criminis.

If we dealt only with the false and dishonest, we should at last forget how to speak truth.

I am not responsible for the successful working of the machinery of society.

It behooves every man to see that his influence is on the side of justice, and let the courts make their own characters.