They are, as it were, train-bearers in the pageant of life, and hold a glass up to humanity, frailer than itself. We see ourselves at second-hand in them: they show us all that we are, all that we wish to be, and all that we dread to be. What brings the resemblance nearer is, that, as they imitate us, we, in our turn, imitate them. There is no class of society whom so many persons regard with affection as actors.

The most rational cure after all for the inordinate fear of death is to set a just value on life.

The way to procure insults is to submit to them. A man meets with no more respect than he exacts.

The humblest painter is a true scholar; and the best of scholars the scholar of nature.

A great mind is one that can forget or look beyond itself.

Good temper is one of the great preservers of the features.

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