“I will follow the good side right to the fire, but not into it if I can help it.”

“I listen with attention to the judgment of all men;but so far as I can remember,I have followed none but my own.”

“I enjoy books as misers enjoy treasures, because I know I can enjoy them whenever I please.”

“When I am attacked by gloomy thoughts,nothing helps me so much as running to my books.They quickly absorb me and banish the clouds from my mind.”

“If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.”

“If I am pressed to say why I loved him, I feel it can only be explained by replying: 'Because it was he; because it was me.”

“There is indeed a certain sense of gratification when we do a good deed that gives us inward satisfaction, and a generous pride that accompanies a good conscience…These testimonies of a good conscience are pleasant; and such a natural pleasure is very beneficial to us; it is the only payment that can never fail. “On Repentance”