The diffusion of taste is not the same thing as the improvement of taste.

When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest.

A wise traveler never despises his own country.

The way to secure success is to be more anxious about obtaining than about deserving it.

It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born and bred a Dissenter.

A man who is determined never to move out of the beaten road cannot lose his way.

A man who does not endeavour to seem more than he is will generally be thought nothing of. We habitually make such large deductions for pretence and imposture that no real merit will stand against them. It is necessary to set off our good qualities with a certain air of plausibility and self-importance, as some attention to fashion is necessary.