... many a heart is caught in the rebound ... Pride may be soothed by the ready devotion of another; vanity may be excited the more keenly by recent mortification.

Few save the poor feel for the poor.

to the many, witticisms not only require to be explained, like riddles, but are also like new shoes, which people require to wear many times before they get accustomed to them.

It is said that ridicule is the test of truth: it is never applied, but when we wish to deceive ourselves.

... true love is like religion, it hath its silence and its sanctity.

Conscience, like a child, is soon lulled to sleep.

Social life is filled with doubts and vain aspirings; solitude, when the imagination is dethroned, is turned to weariness and ennui.