Men are guided less by conscience than by glory; and yet the shortest way to glory is to be guided by conscience.

To a zealot every one of his own sect is a saint, while the most upright of a different sect are to him children of perdition.

Emotions are raised in us, not only by the qualities and actions of others, but also by their feelings. I cannot behold a man in distress, without partaking of his pain; nor in joy, without partaking of his pleasure.

Death, whether it regards ourselves or others, appears less terrible in war than at home. The cries of women and children, friends in anguish, a dark room, dim tapers, priests and physicians, are what affect us the most on the death-bed. Behold us already more than half dead and buried.

Were wisdom to be sold, she would give no price; every man is satisfied with the share he has from nature.

Such is the power of imagination, that even a chimerical pleasure in expectation affects us more than a solid pleasure in possession.

Great wants proceed from great wealth; but they are undutiful children, for they sink wealth down to poverty.