“Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.”

“As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man upon easier terms than I was formerly. ”

“Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.”

“Every state of society is as luxurious as it can be. Men always take the best they can get. ”

“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.”

“There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and eagerness for the nearest good.”

“Those who attain to any excellence commonly spend life in some single pursuit, for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.”