In the morn of life we are alert, we are heated in its noon, and only in its decline do we repose.

Despotism sits nowhere so secure as under the effigy and ensigns of freedom.

When the mind loses its feeling for elegance, it grows corrupt and groveling, and seeks in the crowd what ought to be found at home.

We cannot be contented because we are happy, and we cannot be happy because we are contented.

Experience is our only teacher both in war and peace.

Fame often rests at first upon something accidental, and often, too, is swept away, or for a time removed; but neither genius nor glory, is conferred at once, nor do they glimmer and fall, like drops in a grotto, at a shout.

Merit has rarely risen of itself, but a pebble or a twig is often quite sufficient for it to spring from to the highest ascent. There is usually some baseness before there is any elevation.