A tale should be judicious, clear, succinct; The language plain, and incidents well link'd; Tell not as new what ev'ry body knows; and, new or old, still hasten to a close.

It chills my blood to hear the blest Supreme Rudely appealed to on each trifling theme.

Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

Elegant as simplicity, and warm As ecstasy.

Strange as it may seem, the most ludicrous lines I ever wrote have been written in the saddest mood.

He that has seen both sides of fifty has lived to little purpose if he has no other views of the world than he had when he was much younger.

'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume; And we are weeds without it.