No man reads a book of science from pure inclination. The books that we do read with pleasure are light compositions, which contain a quick succession of events.

Our senses, our appetite, and our passions are our lawful and faithful guides in things that relate solely to this life.

I also admit, that there are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits which are not good till they are rotten.

There are occasions on which all apology is rudeness.

To read, write, and converse in due proportions, is, therefore, the business of a man of letters.

The wickedness of a loose or profane author is more atrocious than that of a giddy libertine or drunken ravisher, not only because it extends its effects wider, as a pestilence that taints the air is more destructive than poison infused in a draught, but because it is committed with cool deliberation.

What is read twice is usually remembered more than what is once written.