Depend upon it, sir, it is when you come close to a man in conservation that you discover what his real abilities are; to make a speech in a public assembly is a knack.

Contempt is a kind of gangrene which, if it seizes one part of a character, corrupts all the rest by degrees.

How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?

No mind is much employed upon the present; recollection and anticipation fill up almost all our moments.

No wise man will go to live in the country, unless he has something to do which can be better done in the country. For instance, if he is to shut himself up for a year to study science, it is better to look out to the fields, than to an opposite wall. Then, if a man walks out in the country, there is nobody to keep him from walking in again: but if a man walks out in London, he is not sure when he will walk in again. A great city is, to be sure, the school for studying life.

Oats. A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.

Read the book you do honestly feel a wish and curiosity to read.