An ignorant man is insignificant and contemptible; nobody cares for his company, and he can just be said to live, and that is all.

Everything is worth seeing once, and the more one sees the less one either wonders or admires.

I always put these pert jackanapeses out of countenance by looking extremely grave when they expect that I should laugh at their pleasantries; and by saying Well, and so?--as if they had not done, and that the sting were still to come. This disconcerts them, as they have no resources in themselves, and have but one set of jokes to live upon.

In nature the most violent passions are silent; in tragedy they must speak and speak with dignity too.

The rulers of the earth are all worth knowing; they suggest moral reflections: and the respect that one naturally has for God's vice-regents here on earth is greatly increased by acquaintance with them.

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it.

I heartily wish you, in the plain home-spun style, a great number of happy new years, well employed in forming both your mind andyour manners, to be useful and agreeable to yourself, your country, and your friends.