No man is nobler born than another, unless he is born with better abilities and a more amiable disposition. They who make such a parade with their family pictures and pedigrees, are, properly speaking, rather to be called noted or notorious than noble persons. I thought it right to say this much, in order to repel the insolence of men who depend entirely upon chance and accidental circumstances for distinction, and not at all on public services and personal merit.

Death: There's nothing bad about it at all except the thing that comes before it-the fear of it.

A benefit is estimated according to the mind of the giver.

Be not too hasty either with praise or blame; speak always as though you were giving evidence before the judgement-seat of the Gods.

A thousand approaches lie open to death.

We suffer more in imagination than in reality.

A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the study of so vast a subject. A time will come when our descendants will be amazed that we did not know things that are so plain to them.