The moral system of the universe is like a document written in alternate ciphers, which change from line to line.

Crime is not punished as an offense against God, but as prejudicial to society.

The solitary side of our nature demands leisure for reflection upon subjects on which the dash and whirl of daily business, so long as its clouds rise thick about us, forbid the intellect to fasten itself.

What is called virtue in the common sense of the word has nothing to do with this or that man's prosperity, or even happiness.

Where nature is sovereign, there is no need of austerity and self-denial.

Of all the evil spirits abroad at this hour in the world, insincerity is the most dangerous.

But the world was also so constructed, owing to the nature of the Maker of it, that superior strength was found in the long run to lie with those who had the right on their side.