I always love to begin a journey on Sundays, because I shall have the prayers of the church to preserve all that travel by land, or water.

The latter part of a wise person's life is occupied with curing the follies, prejudices and false opinions they contracted earlier.

Neither are any wars so furious and bloody, or of so long continuance as those occasioned by difference in opinion, especially if it be in things indifferent.

Everyone desires long life, not one old age.

The affectation of some late authors to introduce and multiply cant words is the most ruinous corruption in any language.

Everybody wants to live forever, but nobody wants to grow old.

I hope you will be ready to own publicly, whenever you shall be called to it, that by your great and frequent urgency you prevailed on me to publish a very loose and uncorrect account of my travels, with directions to hire some young gentleman of either university to put them in order, and correct the style, as my cousin Dampier did, by my advice, in his book called "A Voyage round the world."