It happened very providentially, to the honor of the Christian religion, that it did not take its rise in the dark illiterate ages of the world, but at a time when arts and sciences were at their height.

Our disputants put me in mind of the cuttlefish that, when he is unable to extricate himself, blackens the water about him till he becomes invisible.

Words, when well chosen, have so great a force in them, that a description often gives us more lively ideas than the sight of things themselves.

There is not on earth a spectacle more worthy the regard of a Creator intent on his works, than a brave man superior to his sufferings.

Sir Francis Bacon observed that a well-written book, compared with its rivals and antagonists, is like Moses' serpent, that immediately swallowed up and devoured those of the Egyptians.

There is noting truly valuable which can be purchased without pains and labor. The gods have set a price upon every real and noble pleasure.

Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.