The longer we live the more we think and the higher the value we put on friendship and tenderness towards parents and friends.

Surely, it is much easier to respect a man who has always had respect, than to respect a man who we know was last year no better than ourselves, and will be no better next year.

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

It is however, reasonable, to have perfection in our eye; that we may always advance towards it, though we know it never can be reached.

Sir, as a man advances in life, he gets what is better than admiration, - judgement, to estimate things at their true value.

Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it.

Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.