"I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs"
"Friendships, in general, are suddenly contracted; and therefore it is no wonder they are easily dissolved"
"Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body"
"Better to die ten thousand deaths than wound my honor"
"A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of"
"To be perfectly just is an attribute of the divine nature; to be so to the utmost of our abilities, is the glory of man"
"To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to recieve all the great truths which atheism would deny"
"We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us"
"To say that authority, whether secular or religious, supplies no ground for morality is not to deny the obvious fact that it supplies a sanction"
"The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the wars of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds"
"Mysterious love, uncertain treasure, hast thou more of pain or pleasure! Endless torments dwell about thee: Yet who would live, and live without thee!"
"It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others"
"Is there not some chosen curse, some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man who owes his greatness to his country's ruin!"
"Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts; in a uniform manner"
"Admiration is a very short-lived passion, that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object"
"A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes"
