It is reported in the supplement of the council of Nicæan that the fathers, being very perplexed to know which were the cryphal or apocryphal books of the Old and New Testaments, put them all pell-mell on an altar, and the books to be rejected fell to the ground. It is a pity that this eloquent procedure has not survived.

A yawn may not be polite, but at least it is an honest opinion.

Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound.

Very often, say what you will, a knave is only a fool.

It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.

Pleasantry is never good on serious points, because it always regards subjects in that point of view in which it is not the purpose to consider them.

To caress the serpent that devours us, until it has eaten away our heart.