A joker is near akin to a buffoon; and neither of them is the least related to wit.

Sincerity is the most compendious wisdom.

It is often more necessary to conceal contempt than resentment; the former is never forgiven, but the later is sometimes forgotten.

I am provoked at the contempt which most historians show for humanity in general; one would think by them, that the whole human species consisted but of about a hundred and fifty people, called and dignified (commonly very undeservedly too) by the titles of Emperors, Kings, Popes, Generals, and Ministers.

Mind not only what people say, but how they say it; and if you have any sagacity, you may discover more truth by your eyes than by your ears. People can say what they will, but they cannot look just as they will; and their looks frequently (reveal) what their words are calculated to conceal.

Physical ills are the taxes laid upon this wretched life; some are taxed higher, and some lower, but all pay something.

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