Nothing is more unjust or capricious than public opinion.

Time,--the most independent of all things.

Reflection brakes men cowards. There is no object that can be put in competition with life, unless it is viewed through the medium of passion, and we are hurried away by the impulse of the moment.

Religion either makes men wise and virtuous, or it makes them set up false pretenses to both.

Greatness is great power, producing great effects. It is not enough that a man has great power in himself, he must shew it to all the world in a way that cannot be hid or gainsaid.

A lively blockhead in company is a public benefit. Silence or dulness by the side of folly looks like wisdom.

Life is the art of being well deceived; and in order that the deception may succeed it must be habitual and uninterrupted.