“Custom may lead a man into many errors; but it justifies none.”

Some virtuous women are too liberal in their insults to a frail sister; but virtue can support itself without borrowing any assistance from the vices of other women.

All nature wears one universal grin.

Good writers will, indeed, do well to imitate the ingenious traveller, who always proportions his stay in any place.

There is scarcely any man, how much soever he may despise the character of a flatterer, but will condescend in the meanest manner to flatter himself.

Life may as properly be called an art as any other.

Let no man be sorry he has done good, because others have done evil.

A rich man without charity is a rogue; and perhaps it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool.

There is nothing so useful to man in general, nor so beneficial to particular societies and individuals, as trade. This is that alma mater, at whose plentiful breast all mankind are nourished.

Success is a fruit of slow growth.

Now in reality, the world has paid too great a compliment to critics, and has imagined them to be men of much greater profundity than they really are.

A beau is everything of a woman but the sex, and nothing of a man beside it.

Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it, a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.

Never trust the man who has reason to suspect that you know he hath injured you.

What is commonly called love, namely the desire of satisfying a voracious appetite with a certain quantity of delicate white human flesh.

LOVE: A word properly applied to our delight in particular kinds of food; sometimes metaphorically spoken of the favorite objects of all our appetites.

The highest friendship must always lead us to the highest pleasure.

If you’ve been full of error and defeat, be done with it. Say, “By God’s grace, I’m done with it,” and take charge of yourself like never before.”

Error often is to be preferred to indecision.

Almighty God sends no trial without consolation.

My sense of insecurity keeps me alert, always ready to correct my errors.

Choices will continually be necessary and — let us not forget — possible. Obedience to God is always possible. It is a deadly error to fall into the notion that when feelings are extremely strong we can do nothing but act on them.

Unfortunately, the more complex the system, the greater the room for error.

To live life is to make a succession of errors. Understanding this can bring us great ease and forgiveness for ourselves and others.

Science progresses not by convincing the adherents of old theories that they are wrong, but by allowing enough time to pass so that a new generation can arise unencumbered by the old errors.