Guilt is a spiritual Rubicon.

The fruition of what is unlawful must be followed by remorse. The core sticks in the throat after the apple is eaten, and the sated appetite loathes the interdicted pleasure for which innocence was bartered.

Goodness is equally hateful to the wicked, as vice is to the virtuous.

The flatterer easily insinuates himself into the closet, while honest merit stands shivering in the hall or antechamber.

Self-love leads men of narrow minds to measure all mankind by their own capacity.

Virtue, without the graces, is like a rich diamond unpolished--it hardly looks better than a common pebble; but when the hand of the master rubs off the roughness, and forms the sides into a thousand brilliant surfaces, it is then that we acknowledge its worth, admire its beauty, and long to wear it in our bosoms.

Happiness is not perfected until it is shared.