The insolent civility of a proud man is, if possible, more shocking than his rudeness could be; because he shows you, by his manner, that he thinks it mere condescension in him; and that his goodness alone bestows upon you what you have no pretense to claim.
Take rather than give the tone to the company you are in. If you have parts you will show them more or less upon every subject; and if you have not, you had better talk sillily upon a subject of other people’s than of your own choosing.
It is often more necessary to conceal contempt than resentment; the former is never forgiven, but the later is sometimes forgotten.
No man can possibly improve in any company for which he has not respect enough to be under some degree of restraint.
Choose the company of your superiors whenever you can have it.
An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions.
Artichoke: That vegetable of which one has more at the finish than at the start of dinner.
Wise people may say what they will, but one passion is never cured by another.
A man of sense may be in haste, but can never be in a hurry.
Few fathers care much for their sons, or at least, most of them care more for their money. Of those who really love their sons, few know how to do it.
Cautiously avoid speaking of the domestic affairs either of yourself, or of other people. Yours are nothing to them but tedious gossip; and theirs are nothing to you.
Speak the language of the company you are in; speak it purely, and unlarded with any other.
Men are much more unrolling to have their weaknesses and their imperfections known than their crimes; and if you hint to a man that you think him silly, ignorant, or even ill-bred or awkward, he will hate you more and longer than if you tell him plainly that you think him a rogue.
Observe any meetings of people, and you will always find their eagerness and impetuosity rise or fall in proportion to their numbers.
The world can doubtless never be well known by theory: practice is absolutely necessary; but surely it is of great use to a young man, before he sets out for that country, full of mazes, windings, and turnings, to have at least a general map of it, made by some experienced traveler.
Style is the dress of thoughts; and let them be ever so just, if your style is homely, coarse, and vulgar, they will appear to as much disadvantage, and be as ill received, as your person, though ever so well-proportioned, would if dressed in rags, dirt, and tatters.
The more one works, the more willing one is to work.
Inferiority is what you enjoy in your best friends.
Either a good or a bad reputation outruns and gets before people wherever they go.
I find, by experience, that the mind and the body are more than married, for they are most intimately united; and when one suffers, the other sympathizes.