Madam, before you flatter a man so grossly to his face, you should consider whether or not your flattery is worth his having.

It is almost always the unhappiness of a victorious disputant to destroy his own authority by claiming too many consequences, or diffusing his proposition to an indefensible extent.

Men go to sea, before they know the unhappiness of that way of life; and when they have come to know it, they cannot escape from it, because it is then too late to choose another profession; as indeed is generally the case with men, when they have once engaged in any particular way of life.

Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance.

If the abuse be enormous, nature will rise up, and claiming her original rights, overturn a corrupt political system.

The blaze of reputation cannot be blown out, but it often dies in the socket; a very few names may be considered as perpetual lamps that shine unconsumed.

No member of a society has a right to teach any doctrine contrary to what the society holds to be true.