Mankind divides itself into two classes,--benefactors and malefactors. The second class is vast; the first a handful.

Our condition as men is risky and ticklish enough. One can not be sure of himself and his fortune an hour, but he may be whisked off into some pitiable or ridiculous plight.

Besides the general infusion of wit to heighten civility, the direct splendor of intellectual power is ever welcome in fine society, as the costliest addition to its rule and its credit.

Men's actions are too strong for them. Show me a man who has acted, and who has not been the victim and slave of his action.

The common experience is, that the man fits himself as well as he can to the customary details of that work or trade he falls into, and tends it as a dog turns a spit. Then he is part of the machine he moves; the man is lost.

What you persist in doing gets easier. The task hasn't changed, but your ability to do it has increased.

Life itself is ... a sleep within a sleep.