Desultory reading is delightful, but to be beneficial, our reading must be carefully directed.

That which Fortune has not given, she cannot take away.

To be always fortunate, and to pass through life with a soul that has never known sorrow, is to be ignorant of one half of nature.

It is sometimes pleasant even to act like a madman.

All my life I have been seeking to climb out of the pit of my besetting sins and I cannot do it and I never will unless a hand is let down to draw me up.

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.

Whatsoever has exceeded its proper limit is in an unstable position.