I see no comfort in outliving one's friends, and remaining a mere monument of the times which are past.

When we come to the moral principles on which the government is to be administered, we come to what is proper for all conditions of society. Liberty, truth, probity, honor, are declared to be the four cardinal principles of society. I believe that morality, compassion, generosity, are innate elements of the human constitution; that there exists a right independent of force.

Honesty is the first chapter in the Book of wisdom. Let it be our endeavor to merit the character of a just nation.

I have lived temperately....I double the doctor's recommendation of a glass and a half wine each day and even treble it with a friend.

The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed.

I have learned to be less confident in the conclusions of human reason, and give more credit to the honesty of contrary opinions.

I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.