Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly to the listening earth Repeats the story of her birth.

The fear of death often proves mortal, and sets people on methods to save their Lives, which infallibly destroy them.

Poverty palls the most generous spirits; it cows industry, and casts resolution itself into despair.

It is a celebrated thought of Socrates, that if all the misfortunes of mankind were cast into a public stock, in order to be equally distributed among the whole species, those who now think themselves the most unhappy would prefer the share they are already possessed of, before that which would fall to them by such a division. [as they realise their problems could be worse!]

Fables take off from the severity of instruction, and enforce it at the same time that they conceal it.

Beauty commonly produces love, but cleanliness preserves it. Age itself is not unamiable while it is preserved clean and unsullied; like a piece of metal constantly kept smooth and bright, we look on it with more pleasure than on a new vessel cankered with rust.

A woman seldom asks advice before she has bought her wedding clothes.