It is only necessary to raise a bugbear before the English imagination in order to govern it at will. Whatever they hate or fear, they implicitly believe in, merely from the scope it gives to these passions.

Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity.

Humour is the making others act or talk absurdly and unconsciously; wit is the pointing out and ridiculing that absurdity consciously, and with more or less ill-nature.

Books are a world in themselves, it is true; but they are not the only world. The world itself is a volume larger than all the libraries in it.

Features alone do not run in the blood; vices and virtues, genius and folly, are transmitted through the same sure but unseen channel.

They are the only honest hypocrites, their life is a voluntary dream, a studied madness.

Hope is the best possession. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope. Few are reduced so low as that.