“Let a man be of what side he may in politics, unless he be much more of a partisan than a patriot, he will think it well that there should be some equity of division in the bestowal of crumbs of comfort.”

The best way to be thankful is to use the goods the gods provide you.

Considering how much we are all given to discuss the characters of others, and discuss them often not in the strictest spirit of charity.

Is it not remarkable that the common repute which we all give to attorneys in the general is exactly opposite to that which every man gives to his own attorney in particular?

I doubt whether I ever read any description of scenery which gave me an idea of the place described.

A farmer’s horse is never lame, never unfit to go. Never throws out curbs, never breaks down before or behind.

They who do not understand that a man may be brought to hope that which of all things is the most grievous to him, have not observed with sufficient closeness the perversity of the human mind.

One can only pour out of a jug that which is in it.

One wants in a Prime Minister a good many things, but not very great things. He should be clever but need not be a genius; he should be conscientious but by no means strait-laced.

There is no human bliss equal to twelve hours of work with only six hours in which to do it.

The secrets of the world are very marvellous, but they are not themselves half so wonderful as the way in which they become known to the world.

I hate a stupid man who can’t talk to me, and I hate a clever man who talks me down. I don’t like a man who is too lazy to make any effort to shine; but I particularly dislike the man who is always striving for effect.

Cham is the only thing to screw one up when one is down a peg.

Rights and rules, which are bonds of iron to a little man, are packthread to a giant.

People seen by the mind are exactly different to things seen by the eye. They grow smaller and smaller as you come nearer down to them, whereas things become bigger.

There is nothing perhaps so generally consoling to a man as a well-established grievance.

Let no man boast himself that he has got through the perils of winter till at least the seventh of May.

Even the disagreement over Syria is more of a tactical one than a strategic one.

People need to be more aware of how they’re affecting people.

The music industry was more oddball guys who did it for fun and now they are huge corporations that have become more structured.

When a clandestine couple kisses, it is much more likely that sex will immediately follow.

Today it’s a little bit more complicated.

Iran put to death more than a thousand people last year. I don’t see EU reporting on it.

They become nothing more than the kiss of Judas, pressing a crown of thorns into your flesh.

Ask anyone battling health issues – most especially, issues that could have been avoided.