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.

The man visited by ecstasies and visions, who takes dreams for realities is an enthusiast; the man who supports his madness with murder is a fanatic.

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it.

The abuse of grace is affectation, as the abuse of the sublime is absurdity; all perfection is nearly a fault.

We cannot wish for that we know not.

I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow.

Time, which alone makes the reputation of men, ends by making their defects respectable.