“Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea.”

“Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it.”

“It has been observed in all ages that the advantages of nature or of fortune have contributed very little to the promotion of happiness; and that those whom the splendour of their rank, or the extent of their capacity, have placed upon the summits of human life, have not often given any just occasion to envy in those who look up to them from a lower station; whether it be that apparent superiority incites great designs, and great designs are naturally liable to fatal miscarriages; or that the general lot of mankind is misery, and the misfortunes of those whose eminence drew upon them an universal attention, have been more carefully recorded, because they were more generally observed, and have in reality only been more conspicuous than others, not more frequent, or more severe.”

“He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.”

“Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler”

“Nothing flatters a man as much as the happiness of his wife; he is always proud of himself as the source of it.”

“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.”