And therefore, Reader, I myself am the subject of my book: it is not reasonable that you should employ your leisure on a topic so frivolous and so vain. Therefore, Farewell.

Silence and modesty are very valuable qualities in conversation.

Intemperance is the plaque of sensuality, and temperance is not its bane but its seasoning.

Human understanding is marvellously enlightened by daily conversation with men, for we are, otherwise, compressed and heaped up in ourselves, and have our sight limited to the length of our own noses.

No spiritual mind remains within itself; it is always aspiring and going beyond its own strength.

Disappointment and feebleness imprint upon us a cowardly and valetudinarian virtue.

To say less of yourself than is true is stupidity, not modesty. To pay yourself less than you are worth is cowardice and pusillanimity.