“It is all work, and my inducement to it is not love or desire of fame, but the want of money, which is the only motive to writing that I know of.”

“Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life . . . the unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either than they know how to use.”

“The vanity of being known to be trusted with a secret is generally one of the chief motives to disclose it; for, however absurd it may be thought to boast an honour by an act which shows that it was conferred without merit, yet most men seem rather inclined to confess the want of virtue than of importance.”

“Getting money is not all a man's business: to cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.”

“The only end of writing is to enable readers better to enjoy life or better to endure it.”

“I know not why any one but a schoolboy in his declamation should whine over the Commonwealth of Rome, which grew great only by the misery of the rest of mankind. The Romans, like others, as soon as they grew rich, grew corrupt; and in their corruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves, and of one another.”

“I have already enjoyed too much; give me something to desire.”