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.

Pity is not natural to man. Children always are cruel. Savages are always cruel.

When we see our enemies and friends gliding away before us, let us not forget that we are subject to the general law of mortality, and shall soon be where our doom will be fixed forever.

In civilized society we all depend upon each other, and our happiness is very much owing to the good opinion of mankind.

I do not care to speak ill of a man behind his back, but I believe he is an attorney.

There is no crime more infamous than the violation of truth. It is apparent that men can be social beings no longer than they believe each other. When speech is employed only as the vehicle of falsehood, every man must disunite himself from others, inhabit his own cave and seek prey only for himself.

When two Eglishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather.