An entirely honest man, in the severe sense of the word, exists no more than an entirely dishonest knave: the best and the worst are only approximations of those qualities. Who are those that never contradict themselves? yet honesty never contradicts itself: Who are those that always contradict themselves? yet knavery is mere self-contradiction. Thus the knowledge of man determines not the things themselves, but their proportions, the quan∣tum of congruities and incongruities.

Strange that cowards cannot see that their greatest safety lies in dauntless courage.

He who can at all times sacrifice pleasure to duty approaches sublimity.

Each particle of matter is an immensity, each leaf a world, each insect an inexplicable compendium.

It is possible that a wise and good man may be prevailed on to game; but it is impossi∣ble that a professed gamester should be a wise and good man.

What knowledge is there of which man is capable that is not founded on the exterior,--the relation that exists between visible and invisible, the perceptible and the imperceptible?

Who has a daring eye tell downright truths and downright lies.