Death stands above me, whispering low I know not what into my ear; Of his strange language all I know Is, there is not a word of fear.

Of all studies, the most delightful and the most useful is biography. The seeds of great events lie near the surface; historians delve too deep for them. No history was ever true. Lives I have read which, if they were not, had the appearance, the interest, and the utility of truth.

Of all failures, to fail in a witticism is the worst, and the mishap is the more calamitous in a drawn-out and detailed one

Tyrants never perish from tyranny, but always from folly,-when their fantasies have built up a palace for which the earth has no foundation.

Goodness does not more certainly make men happy than happiness makes them good.

Wherever there is excessive wealth, there is also in the train of it excessive poverty.

A man's vanity tells him what is honor, a man's conscience what is justice.