It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such a one as is unworthy of him; for the one is only belief - the other contempt.

Lying is a most disgraceful vice; it first despises God, and then fears men.

When one is transported by rage, it is best to observe attentively the effects on those who deliver themselves over to the same passion.

Moral habits, induced by public practices, are far quicker in making their way into men's private lives, than the failings and faults of individuals are in infecting the city at large.

So also it is good not always to make a friend of the person who is expert in twining himself around us; but, after testing them, to attach ourselves to those who are worthy of our affection and likely to be serviceable to us.

Pythagoras, when he was asked what time was, answered that it was the soul of this world.

Sometimes small incidents, rather than glorious exploits, give us the best evidence of character. So, as portrait painters are more exact in doing the face, where the character is revealed, than the rest of the body, I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks of the souls of men.