There is no passion so universal, or that steals into the heart so imperceptibly, and covers itself with so much disguise as pride, and yet at the same time there is not any single view of human nature, under its present condition, which is not sufficient to extinguish in us all the secret seeds of pride, and on the contrary, to sink the soul into the lowest depths of humility.
He has most that covets least. A wise man wants little, because he desires not much. A wise man will desire no more than he can get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and live contentedly with.
Other vices choose to be in the dark; only pride loves always to be seen in the light.
Rather suffer wrong than enter into a law-suit; the first loss is generally the least.
A being who has nothing to pardon in himself, may reward every man according to his works; but he whose very best actions must be seen with grains of allowance, cannot be too mild, moderate and forgiving; for this reason, among all the monstrous characters in human nature, there is none so odious, none indeed, so exquisitely ridiculous as that of a rigid, severe temper in a worthless man.
Solon, being asked why among his personal laws there was none against personal affronts, answered, that he could not believe men so fantastical as to regard them.
The great law of benevolence is perhaps violated oftener by envy than by interest. Interest can diffuse itself but to a narrow compass. But to spread suspicion, to invent calumnies, to propagate scandal, requires neither talents nor labor nor courage.
Take heed that you harbor not that vice called envy, lest another's happiness be your torment, and God's blessing become your curse; virtue, corrupted with vain-glory, turns pride; pride poisoned with malice becomes envy. Join, therefore, humility with your virtue, and pride shall have no footing, nor envy find an entrance. If we well knew how little others enjoy, it would rescue the world from one sin—there would be no such thing as envy.
If a jewel be right, no matter who says it is counterfeit; if my conscience tells me I am innocent, what do I care who tells the world I am guilty?
There is an odious spirit in many persons, who are better pleased to detect a fault than to commend a virtue.
When thou hast no observers, be afraid of thyself; that which you are afraid to do before others, be afraid to think of before God.
In your worst estate hope; in the best, fear; but in all be circumspect.
Discontent is the greatest weakness of a generous mind; for it is so intent upon its own unhappiness that it many times forgets its remedies.
Hope will be your best antidote against all misfortune; and God's omnipotency an excellent mean to fix your soul. A good conscience seats the soul on a rich throne of lasting quiet, but horror waits upon a guilty soul.
There is no greater instance of a weak and pusillanimous temper, than for a man to pass his whole life in opposition to his own sentiments, and not dare to be what he thinks he ought to be.
Fear is implanted in us as a preservative from evil; but its duty, like that of other passions, is not to overbear reason, but to assist it; nor should it be suffered to tyrannize in the imagination, to raise phantoms of horror, or beset life with supernumerary distresses.
A man cannot be happy here without a well-grounded hope of being happy hereafter.
If some are refined like gold in the furnace of affliction, there are many more, like chaff, burned up in it. Sorrow, when it is excessive, takes away fervor from piety, vigor from action, health from the body, light from reason, and repose from the conscience.
The best relief of anxious thoughts is the expectation of future happiness. It is the most perfect cure of melancholy, the guide of life, and the comfort of death.
It is impossible to see the long scrolls in which every contract is included, with all their appendages of seals and attestations, without wondering at the depravity of those beings who must be restrained from violation of promise by such formal and public evidences, and precluded from equivocation and subterfuge, by such punctilious minuteness. Among all the satires to which folly and wickedness have given occasion, none is equally severe with a bond or a settlement.