One truth discovered, one pang of regret at not being able to express it, is better than all the fluency and flippancy in the world.

We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner of doing it. This is the reason why it is so difficult for any but natives to speak a language correctly or idiomatically.

Society is a more level surface than we imagine. Wise men or absolute fools are hard to be met with, as there are few giants or dwarfs.

In public speaking, we must appeal either to the prejudices of others, or to the love of truth and justice. If we think merely of displaying our own ability, we shall ruin every cause we undertake.

We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.

Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects, and discovering other people's weaknesses.

We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.