It is incident to physicians, I am afraid, beyond all other men, to mistake subsequence for consequence.

Reproof should not exhaust its power upon petty failings.

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

Reason elevates our thoughts as high as the stars, and leads us through the vast space of this mighty fabric; yet it comes far short of the real extent of our corporeal being.

Where grief is fresh, any attempt to divert it only irritates.

Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble.

Exactness is first obtained, and afterwards elegance. But diction, merely vocal, is always in its childhood. As no man leaves his eloquence behind him, the new generations have all to learn. There may possibly be books without a polished language, but there can be no polished language without books.