"If we may believe our logicians, man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter. He has a heart capable of mirth, and naturally disposed to it"
"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"
"Suspicion is not less an enemy to virtue than to happiness; he that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly be corrupt"
"Plenty of people wish to become devout, but no one wishes to be humble"
"One should take good care not to grow too wise for so great a pleasure of life as laughter"
"Modesty is not only an ornament, but also a guard to virtue"
"Man is subject to innumerable pains and sorrows by the very condition of humanity, and yet, as if nature had not sown evils enough in life, we are continually adding grief to grief and aggravating the common calamity by our cruel treatment of one another"
