Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen.

If we estimate dignity by immediate usefulness, agriculture is undoubtedly the first and noblest science.

He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dulness in others.

The essence of poetry is invention; such invention as, by producing something unexpected, surprises and delights.

We are all prompted by the same motives, all deceived by the same fallacies, all animated by hope, obstructed by danger, entangled by desire, and seduced by pleasure.

Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards not the conclusion, but is diligent to mark how it is inferred; they read for other purposes than the attainment of practical knowledge; and are no more likely to grow wise by an examination of a treatise of moral prudence, than an architect to inflame his devotion by considering attentively the proportions of a temple.

I would be loath to speak ill of any person who I do not know deserves it, but I am afraid he is an attorney.