The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. being good & men
It is, generally, in the season of prosperity that men discover their real temper, principles, and designs. men
Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it. history
All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter. government
To tax and to please, no more than to love and to be wise, is not given to men. men
Mere parsimony is not economy. Expense, and great expense, may be an essential part in true economy. greatness
I venture to say no war can be long carried on against the will of the people. war
If you can be well without health, you may be happy without virtue. health
Nobility is a graceful ornament to the civil order. It is the Corinthian capital of polished society. society
The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse. power
Superstition is the religion of feeble minds. religion
Beauty is the promise of happiness. beauty & happiness
You can never plan the future by the past. the future & time
The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth. aging
There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings but none when they are under the influence of imagination. imagination & men
Our patience will achieve more than our force. patience
Facts are to the mind what food is to the body. food
Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none. being good
Education is the cheap defense of nations. education
Nothing turns out to be so oppressive and unjust as a feeble government. government
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear. fear
It is the nature of all greatness not to be exact. nature
All human laws are, properly speaking, only declaratory they have no power over the substance of original justice. power
Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference. religion
Politics and the pulpit are terms that have little agreement. politics
Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom and a great empire and little minds go ill together. greatness, politics & wisdom
A State without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation. change
Beauty in distress is much the most affecting beauty. beauty
Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling it never forgives preaching of a new gospel. society
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. being good
Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation. art & religion
Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair. work
When bad men combine, the good must associate else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. being good, men & politics
Poetry is the art of substantiating shadows, and of lending existence to nothing. art & poetry
Passion for fame: A passion which is the instinct of all great souls. greatness
We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature. change, greatness & nature
What ever disunites man from God, also disunites man from man. God