Superficiality

I cannot stop thinking that I died before I was born and that at my death I will return to the same state

Those who never have time do least

To prejudge other men's notions before we have looked into them is not to show their darkness but to put out our own eye

It is a great pity when the one who should be the head figure is a mere figure head

When you see a man with a great deal of religion displayed in his shop window, you may depend upon it, he keeps a very small stock of it within

It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either.

An undutiful daughter will prove an unmanageable wife

A fool often fails because he thinks what is difficult is easy, a wise man because he thinks what is easy is difficult

The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance.

It is well for people who think to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean. For those who do not think, it is best to at least rearrange their prejudices once in a while

As favor and riches forsake a man, we discover in him the foolishness they concealed, and which no one perceived before

To be content with life, or to live merrily, rather, all that is required is that we bestow on all things only a fleeting, superficial glance; the more thoughtful we become the more earnest we grow

First there is a time when we believe everything, then for a little while we believe with discrimination, then we believe nothing whatever, and then we believe everything again - and, moreover, give reasons why we believe

He that judges without informing himself to the utmost that he is capable, cannot acquit himself of judging amiss

Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success

Not just in commerce but in the world of ideas too our age is putting on a veritable clearance sale. Everything can be had so dirt cheap that one begins to wonder whether in the end anyone will want to make a bid

Just as we outgrow a pair of trousers, we outgrow acquaintances, libraries, principles, etc., at times before they're worn out and times - and this is the worst of all - before we have new ones