“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle”

“Some virtues are only seen in affliction and others only in prosperity”

“A reader seldom peruses a book with pleasure until he knows whether the writer of it be a black man or a fair man, of a mild or choleric disposition, married or a bachelor”

“Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit, and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty”

“Plenty of people wish to become devout, but no one wishes to be humble”

“Our ideals are our better selves”