The proper method for hastening the decay of error, is not, by brute force, or by regulation which is one of the classes of force, to endeavour to reduce men to intellectual uniformity; but on the contrary by teaching every man to think for himself.

We are so curiously made that one atom put in the wrong place in our original structure will often make us unhappy for life.

Learning is the ally, not the adversary of genius... he who reads in a proper spirit, can scarcely read too much.

Whenever truth stands in the mind unaccompanied by the evidence upon which it depends, it cannot properly be said to be apprehended at all.

Power is not happiness. Security and peace are more to be desired than a name at which nations tremble.

It is absurd to expect the inclinations and wishes of two human beings to coincide, through any long period of time. To oblige them to act and live together is to subject them to some inevitable potion of thwarting, bickering, and unhappiness.

Perseverance is an active principle, and cannot continue to operate but under the influence of desire.