The proverb answers where the sermon fails.

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.

The birth of a child is the imprisonment of a soul.

The effect of character is always to command consideration. We sport and toy and laugh with men or women who have none, but we never confide in them.

The apothegm is the most portable form of Truth.... It is thus that the proverb answers where the sermon fails, as a well-charged pistol will do more execution than a whole barrel of gunpowder idly expended in the air.

It is a bird-flight of the soul, when the heart declares itself in song. The affections that clothe themselves with wings are passions that have been subdued to virtues.

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