I strove with none; for none was worth my strife.

Circumstances form the character; but, like petrifying matters, they harden while they form.

A little praise is good for a shy temper; it teaches it to rely on the kindness of others.

Those who are quite satisfied sit still and do nothing; those who are not quite satisfied are the sole benefactors of the world.

Clear writers, like fountains, do not seem so deep as they are; the turbid look the most profound.

Authors are like cattle going to a fair: those of the same field can never move on without butting one another.

Immoderate power, like other intemperance, leaves the progeny weaker and weaker, until nature as in compassion covers it with her mantle and it is seen no more.