The fool is willing to pay for anything but wisdom. No man buys that of which he supposes himself to have an abundance already.

Modesty is policy, no less than virtue.

There is no doubt such a thing as chance, but I see no reason why Providence should not make use of it.

What we call vice in our neighbor may be nothing less than a crude virtue. To him who knows nothing more of precious stones than he can learn from a daily contemplation of his breastpin, a diamond in the mine must be a very uncompromising sort of stone.

Distinction is an eminence that is attained but too frequently at the expense of a fireside.

Tact is one of the first of mental virtues, the absence of which is frequently fatal to the best of talents. Without denying that it is a talent of itself, it will suffice if we admit that it supplies the place of many talents.

The only true source of politeness is consideration.