Friendship, compounded of esteem and love, derives from one its tenderness and its permanence from the other.

Whoever desires, for his writings or himself, what none can reasonably contemn, the favour of mankind, must add grace to strength, and make his thoughts agreeable as well as useful. Many complain of neglect who never tried to attract regard.

We love to overlook the boundaries which we do not wish to pass.

There may be other reasons for a man's not speaking in publick than want of resolution: he may have nothing to say.

Power is not sufficient evidence of truth.

A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to the traveller: he follows it at all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way and sure to engulf him in the mire.

What a strange narrowness of mind now is that, to think the things we have not known are better than the things we have known.