Very few live by choice. Every man is placed in his present condition by causes which acted without his foresight, and with which he did not always willingly cooperate; and therefore you will rarely meet one who does not think the lot of his neighbor better than his own.

No estimate is more in danger of erroneous calculations than those by which a man computes the force of his own genius.

Beauty, without kindness, dies unenjoyed and undelighting.

Golf is a game in which you claim the privileges of age, and retain the playthings of childhood.

It was the maxim, I think, of Alphonsus of Aragon, that dead counsellors are safest. The grave puts an end to flattery and artifice, and the information we receive from books is pure from interest, fear, and ambition. Dead counsellors are likewise most instructive, because they are heard with patience and with reverence.

All to whom want is terrible, upon whatever principle, ought to think themselves obliged to learn the sage maxims of our parsimonious ancestors, and attain the salutary arts of contracting expense; for without economy none can be rich, and with it few can be poor.

The work of a correct and regular writer is a garden accurately formed and diligently planted, varied with shades, and scented with flowers.