A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart.

Man is the merriest species of the creation; all above or below him are serious.

As Vivacity is the Gift of Women, Gravity is that of Men.

The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.

Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.

Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.

But in all despotic governments, though a particular prince may favour arts and letter, there is a natural degeneracy of mankind.