Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.

Great abilities are not requisite for an Historian; for in historical composition, all the greatest powers of the human mind are quiescent.

To excite opposition and inflame malevolence is the unhappy privilege of courage made arrogant by consciousness of strength.

Courtesy and good-humour are often found with little real worth.

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.

Leisure and curiosity might soon make great advances in useful knowledge, were they not diverted by minute emulation and laborious trifles.

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.