No one, I hope, can doubt my wish to see... all mankind exercising self-government, and capable of exercising it. But the question is not what we wish, but what is practicable.

Be a listener only, keep within yourself, and endeavor to establish with yourself the habit of silence, especially in politics.

My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!

Public employment contributes neither to advantage nor happiness. It is but honorable exile from one's family and affairs.

The wise know too well their weakness to assume infallibility; and he who knows most knows best how little he knows.

The plough is to the farmer what the wand is to the sorcerer. Its effect is really like sorcery.

Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived, have forced me to take a part in resisting them, and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passions.