None of the projects or designs which exercise the mind of man are equally subject to obstructions and disappointments with the pursuit of fame.

Life will not bear refinement. You must do as other people do.

As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man upon easier terms than I was formerly.

Actions are visible, though motives are secret.

...a man estimable for his learning, amiable for his life, and venerable for his piety. Arbuthnot was a man of great comprehension, skilful in his profession, versed in the sciences, acquainted with ancient literature, and able to animate his mass of knowledge by a bright and active imagination; a scholar with great brilliance of wit; a wit who, in the crowd of life, retained and discovered a noble ardour of religious zeal.

That observation which is called knowledge of the world will be found much more frequently to make men cunning than good.

The king who makes war on his enemies tenderly distresses his subjects most cruelly.