Every period of life has its peculiar prejudices; whoever saw old age, that did not applaud the past, and condemn the present times?

Most of our occupations are low comedy.... We must play our part duly, but as the part of a borrowed character. Of the mask and appearance we must not make a real essence, nor of what is foreign what is our very own.

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.

Every one's true worship was that which he found in use in the place where he chanced to be.

I do not believe, from what I have been told about this people, that there is anything barbarous or savage about them, except that we all call barbarous anything that is contrary to our own habits.

It would be better to have no laws at all, than to have too many.

When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her.