“What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities.”

To this end, nothing is to be more carefully consulted than plainness. In a lady’s attire this is the single excellence; for to be what some people call fine, is the same vice, in that case, as to be florid is in writing or speaking.

A wealthy doctor who can help a poor man, and will not without a fee, has less sense of humanity than a poor ruffian, who kills a rich man to supply his necessities.

Riches expose a man to pride and luxury, and a foolish elation of heart.

They were a people so primitive they did not know how to get money, except by working for it.

Nature has laid out all her art in beautifying the face; she has touched it with vermilion, planted in it a double row of ivory, made it the seat of smiles and blushes, lighted it up and enlivened it with the brightness of the eyes.

No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you.

Our disputants put me in mind of the cuttlefish that, when he is unable to extricate himself, blackens the water about him till he becomes invisible.

I Have often thought if the minds of men were laid open, we should see but little difference between that of the wise man and that of the fool.

How is it possible for those who are men of honor in their persons, thus to become notorious liars in their party

Hunting is not a proper employment for a thinking man.

Talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud.

Women were formed to temper Mankind, and sooth them into Tenderness and Compassion; not to set an Edge upon their Minds, and blowup in them those Passions which are too apt to rise of their own Accord.

The transition from cause to effect, from event to event, is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and our sagacity is unable to trace.

Jesters do often prove prophets.

It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.

There is nothing which strengthens faith more than the observance of morality.

how absurd human beings are and how magnificent.

How absurd and delicious it is to be in love with somebody younger than yourself. Everybody should try it.

Once you do lose a job, there are not a lot of social supports for you. You lose health insurance because we have this absurd system in America where health insurance is usually tied to employment. Your income dips. And that’s when you get into selling the house.

State ownership! It leads only to absurd and monstrous conclusions; state ownership means state monopoly, concentrated in the hands of one party and its adherents, and that state brings only ruin and bankruptcy to all.

So much nearer to Nature than civilized men are; absurd then to maintain cruelty is a consequence of depravity. . . .

Peace is absurd: Fascism does not believe in it.

A monomaniac is a sick person whose mentality is perfectly healthy in all respects but one; he has a single flaw, clearly localized. At times, for example, he has an unreasonable and absurd desire to drink or steal or use abusive language; but all his other acts and all his other thoughts are strictly correct.

Whatever the misery, he could not regain contentment with a world which, once doubted, became absurd.