The proverb answers where the sermon fails.

We must calculate not on the weather, nor on fortune, but upon God and ourselves. He may fail us in the gratification of our wishes, but never in the encounter with our exigencies.

Most men remember obligations, but not often to be grateful; the proud are made sour by the remembrance and the vain silent.

To make punishments efficacious, two things are necessary. They must never be disproportioned to the offence, and they must be certain.

To feel oppressed by obligation is only to prove that we are incapable of a proper sentiment of gratitude. To receive favors from the unworthy is simply to admit that our selfishness is superior to our pride. Most men remember obligations, but not often to be grateful for them. The proud are made sour by the remembrance and the vain silent.

Modesty is policy, no less than virtue.

The amiable is a duty most certainly, but must not be exercised at the expense of any of the virtues. He who seeks to do the amiable always, can only be successful at the frequent expense of his manhood.