Glory consists of two parts: the one in setting too great a value upon ourselves, and the other in setting too little a value upon others.

Virtue can have naught to do with ease. . . . It craves a steep and thorny path.

The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts, and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible.

We are born to inquire into truth; it belongs to a greater to possess it

Learning is not to be tacked to the mind, but we must fuse and blend them together, not merely giving the mind a slight tincture, but a thorough and perfect dye. And if we perceive no evident change and improvement, it would be better to leave it alone; learning is a dangerous weapon, and apt to wound its master if it be wielded by a feeble hand, and by one not well acquainted with its use.

Our speech has its weaknesses and its defects, like all the rest. Most of the occasions for the troubles of the world are grammatical.

The honor of the conquest is rated by the difficulty.