 Among the smaller duties of life I hardly know any one more important than that of not praising where praise is not due. |
| What would life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors? |
| I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland. |
| The object of preaching is to constantly remind mankind of what they keep forgetting; not to supply the intellect, but to fortify the feebleness of human resolutions. |
| What you don't know would make a great book. |
| Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything. |
| I have, alas, only one illusion left, and that is the Archbishop of Canterbury. |
| It is safest to be moderately base - to be flexible in shame, and to be always ready for what is generous, good, and just, when anything is to be gained by virtue. |
| A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience. |
| Never talk for half a minute without pausing and giving others a chance to join in. |
| To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can. |
| Let the Dean and Canons lay their heads together and the thing will be done. |
| It resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them. |
| No man can ever end with being superior who will not begin with being inferior. |
| Do not try to push your way through to the front ranks of your profession; do not run after distinctions and rewards; but do your utmost to find an entry into the world of beauty. |
| What a pity it is that we have no amusements in England but vice and religion! |
| Madam, I have been looking for a person who disliked gravy all my life; let us swear eternal friendship. |
| In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigor it will give your style. |
| As the French say, there are three sexes - men, women, and clergymen. |
| Solitude cherishes great virtues and destroys little ones. |
