To be truly and really independent is to support ourselves by our own exertions..

Bright was the summer of 1296. The war which had desolated Scotland was then at an end..

Yet happiness isn't something you chase, it's something you are. It's something you think, it's something you believe..

Nobility, without virtue, is a fine setting without a gem.

People do not always understand the motives of sublime conduct, and when they are astonished they are very apt to think they ought to be alarmed The ….

Dr. Johnson has said that the chief glory of a country arises from its authors. But then that is only as they are oracles of wisdom; unless they teac….

It is not designed that the road should be made too smooth for us here upon earth..

That grief is the most durable which flows inward, and buries its streams with its fountain, in the depths of the heart..

none are fit judges of greatness but those who are capable of it..

When Alexander had subdued the world, and wept that none were left to dispute his arms, his tears were an involuntary tribute to a monarchy that he k….

Happiness is not perfected until it is shared..

The pure in heart are slow to credit calumnies, because they hardly comprehend what motives can be inducements to the alleged crimes..

Don't live to please others. Don't think everyone else knows what's right or true. Listen to yourself, and be true to yourself. That way, no matter w….

Virtue, without the graces, is like a rich diamond unpolished--it hardly looks better than a common pebble; but when the hand of the master rubs off ….

Beauty of form affects the mind, but then it must be understood that it is not the mere shell that we admire; we are attracted by the idea that this ….

Guilt is a spiritual Rubicon..

There is nothing so clear-sighted and sensible as a noble mind in a low estate..

A sincere acquaintance with ourselves teaches us humility; and from humility springs that benevolence which compassionates the transgressors we conde….

True virtue, when she errs, needs not the eyes of men to excite her blushes; she is confounded at her own presence, and covered with confusion of fac….

However you disguise slavery, it is slavery still. Its chains, though wreathed with roses, not only fasten on the body but rivet on the mind..

The mob is a sort of bear; while your ring is through its nose, it will even dance under your cudgel; but should the ring slip, and you lose your hol….