If it had not been for the pernicious power of envy, men would not so have exalted vengeance above innocence and profit above justice... in these acts of revenge on others, men take it upon themselves to begin the process of repealing those general laws of humanity which are there to give a hope of salvation to all who are in distress.

...knowing the secret of happiness to be freedom, and the secret of freedom a brave heart, not idly to stand aside from the enemy's onset.

Abstinence from all injustice to other first-rate powers is a greater tower of strength than anything that can be gained by the sacrifice of permanent tranquillity for an apparent temporary advantage.

For so remarkably perverse is the nature of man that he despises whoever courts him, and admires whoever will not bend before him.

Human nature is the one constant through human history. It is always there.

Those who have experienced good and bad luck many times have every reason to be skeptical of successes

In a democracy, someone who fails to get elected to office can always console himself with the thought that there was something not quite fair about it.