Take away the motive, and you take away the sin.

You cannot eat your cake and have your cake.

By God and upon my conscience, said the devil, I never observed it, for my mind is occupied with so many different things that I was forgetting the main thing I came about. This demon must be an honest fellow and a good Christian, said Sancho; for if he wasn't he wouldn't swear by God and his conscience; I feel sure now there must be good souls even in hell itself.

Soul of fibre and heart of oak.

All kinds of beauty do not inspire love; there is a kind which only pleases the sight, but does not captivate the affections.

I would do what I pleased, and doing what I pleased, I should have my will, and having my will, I should be contented; and when one is contented, there is no more to be desired; and when there is no more to be desired, there is an end of it.

One of the effects of fear is to disturb the senses and cause things to appear other than what they are.