All that philosophy can teach is to be stubborn or sullen under misfortunes.

Persecution is a tribute the great must always pay for preeminence.

All his faults are such that one loves him still the better for them.

To aim at excellence, our reputation, and friends, and all must be ventured; to aim at the average we run no risk and provide little service.

Where wealth accumulates, men decay.

The volumes of antiquity, like medals, may very well serve to amuse the curious, but the works of the moderns, like the current coin of a kingdom, are much better for immediate use.

The soul may be compared to a field of battle, where the armies are ready every moment to encounter. Not a single vice but has a more powerful opponent, and not one virtue but may be overborne by a combination of vices.