Nobody can deny but religion is a comfort to the distressed, a cordial to the sick, and sometimes a restraint on the wicked.

Miserable is the fate of writers: if they are agreeable, they are offensive; and if dull, they starve.

I wish you would moderate that fondness you have for your children. I do not mean you should abate any part of your care, or not do your duty to them in its utmost extent, but I would have you early prepare yourself for disappointments, which are heavy in proportion to their being surprising.

Satire should, like a polished razor keen, Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen.

We are no more free agents than the queen of clubs when she victoriously takes prisoner the knave of hearts.

My dear Smollett ... disgraces his talent by writing those stupid romances called history.

The knowledge of numbers is one of the chief distinctions between us and the brutes.