Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts; in a uniform manner.
— Joseph Addison
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
A man must be both stupid and uncharitable who believes there is no virtue or truth but on his own side.
It is folly for an eminent man to think of escaping censure, and a weakness to be affected with it. All the illustrious persons of antiquity, and indeed of every age in the world, have passed through this fiery persecution.
Nothing is more gratifying to the mind of man than power or dominion.
What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.
Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.
The union of the Word and the Mind produces that mystery which is called Life... Learn deeply of the Mind and its mystery, for therein lies the secret of immortality.
A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of.
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
A man should always consider how much he has more than he wants.
What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
Admiration is a very short-lived passion, that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object.
The utmost extent of man's knowledge, is to know that he knows nothing.
When men are easy in their circumstances, they are naturally enemies to innovations.
Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed.
Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity.
There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice.
To be perfectly just is an attribute of the divine nature; to be so to the utmost of our abilities, is the glory of man.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the wars of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.
To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to recieve all the great truths which atheism would deny.
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind, which are delivered down from generation to generation as presents to the posterity of those who are yet unborn.
Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.
Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.
Man is subject to innumerable pains and sorrows by the very condition of humanity, and yet, as if nature had not sown evils enough in life, we are continually adding grief to grief and aggravating the common calamity by our cruel treatment of one another.
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 more requisite in business than despatch.
The greatest sweetener of human life is Friendship. To raise this to the highest pitch of enjoyment, is a secret which but few discover.
To say that authority, whether secular or religious, supplies no ground for morality is not to deny the obvious fact that it supplies a sanction.
Justice is an unassailable fortress, built on the brow of a mountain which cannot be overthrown by the violence of torrents, nor demolished by the force of armies.
The unassuming youth seeking instruction with humility gains good fortune.
Music, the greatest good that mortals know and all of heaven we have hear below.
I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.
No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority.
