The principle we call self-love never seeks anything external for the sake of the thing, but only as a means of happiness or good: particular affections rest in the external things themselves.

Things and actions are what they are, and the consequences of them will be what they will be: why then should we desire to be deceived?

People might love themselves with the most entire and unbounded affection, and yet be extremely miserable.

The love of liberty that is not a real principle of dutiful behavior to authority is as hypocritical as the religion that is not productive of a good life.

Both our senses and our passions are a supply to the imperfection of our nature; thus they show that we are such sort of creatures as to stand in need of those helps which higher orders of creatures do not.

Love of our neighbour, then, has just the same respect to, is no more distant from, self-love, than hatred of our neighbour, or than love or hatred of anything else.

It is not at all incredible, that a book which has been so long in the possession of mankind should contain many truths as yet undiscovered.