Nothing is more certain of destroying any good feeling that may be cherished towards us than to show distrust. To be suspected as an enemy is often enough to make a man become so; the whole matter is over, there is no farther use of guarding against it. On the contrary, confidence leads us naturally to act kindly, we are affected by the good opinion which others entertain of us, and we are not easily induced to lose it.

When we reckon without Providence, we must frequently reckon twice.

We must always live in hope; without that consolation there would be no living.

[After being corrected by a grammarian for using the feminine pronoun instead of the pseudogeneric masculine:] As you please, but for my part, if I were to express myself so, I should fancy I had a beard.

It is sometimes best to slip over thoughts and not go to the bottom of them.

There is nobody who is not dangerous for someone.

We are always on the side of those who speak last.