The great and glorious masterpiece of men is to live to the point. All other things-to reign, to hoard, to build-are, at most, but inconsiderable props and appendages.

A foreign war is a lot milder than a civil war.

There never were, in the world, two opinions alike, no more than two hairs, or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.

And one might therefore say of me that in this book I have only made up a bunch of other people's flowers, and that of my own I have only provided the string that ties them together.

We easily enough confess in others an advantage of courage, strength, experience, activity, and beauty; but an advantage in judgment we yield to none.

Cowardice is the mother of cruelty.

True freedom is to have power over oneself for everything.