The liar at any rate recognizes that recreation, not instruction, is the aim of conversation, and is a far more civilized being than the blockhead who loudly expresses his disbelief in a story which is told simply for the amusement of the company.

It is only by not paying one's bills that one can hope to live in the memory of the commercial classes.

Lo! with a little rod I did but touch the honey of romance — And must I lose a soul's inheritance?

There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals. It is only by language that we rise above them.

Indeed I have always been of the opinion that hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing to do.

What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise [in the future. But only if we set out to make this true and anticipate it so we look for the blessings until we find them].

An alliterative prefix served as an ornament of oratory.