A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden.

To talk in public, to think in solitude, to read and to hear, to inquire and answer inquiries, is the business of the scholar

Greece appears to be the fountain of knowledge; Rome of elegance

Their origin is commonly unknown; for the practice often continues when the cause has ceased, and concerning superstitious ceremonies it is in vain to conjecture; for what reason did not dictate, reason cannot explain.

Critics ought never to be consulted, but while errors may yet be rectified or insipidity suppressed. But when the book has once been dismissed into the world, and can be no more retouched, I know not whether a very different conduct should not be prescribed, and whether firmness and spirit may not sometimes be of use to overpower arrogance and repel brutality.

That all who are happy are equally happy is not true. A peasant and a philosopher may be equally satisfied, but not equally happy. A small drinking glass and a large one may be equally full, but the large one holds more than the small.

If pleasure was not followed by pain, who would forbear it?