"What though no real voice nor sound Amid their radiant orbs be found ; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, "The Hand that made us divine.""

"Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly to the listening earth Repeats the story of her birth; While all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole."

"The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim."

"When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view, I'm lost In wonder, love and praise."

"Our delight in any particular study, art, or science rises and improves in proportion to the application which we bestow upon it. Thus, what was at first an exercise becomes at length an entertainment."

"The Lord my pasture shall prepare, And feed me with a shepherd's care; His presence shall my wants supply, And guard me with a watchful eye."

"Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed."

"Health and cheerfulness mutually beget each other."

"Cheerfulness is...the best promoter of health."

"Sir Roger made several reflections on the greatness of the British Nation; as, that one Englishman could beat three Frenchmen; that we could never be in danger of Popery so long as we took care of our fleet; that the Thames was the noblest river in Europe...with many other honest prejudices which naturally cleave to the heart of a true Englishman."

"Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity."

"Death only closes a Man's Reputation, and determines it as good or bad."

"These widows, sir, are the most perverse creatures in the world."

"A true critic ought to dwell rather upon excellencies than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation."

"I have often thought, says Sir Roger, it happens very well that Christmas should fall out in the Middle of the Winter"

"Some virtues are only seen in affliction and some in prosperity."

"Ambition raises a secret tumult in the soul, it inflames the mind, and puts it into a violent hurry of thought."

"There is not a more unhappy being than a superannuated idol."

"In all thy humours, whether grave or mellow, Thou 'rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow, Hast so much wit and mirth and spleen about thee, There is no living with thee, nor without thee."

"It is indeed very possible, that the Persons we laugh at may in the main of their Characters be much wiser Men than our selves; but if they would have us laugh at them, they must fall short of us in those Respects which stir up this Passion."

"The Fear of Death often proves Mortal, and sets People on Methods to save their Lives, which infallibly destroy them."

"That nothing is capable of being well set to Musick, that is not Nonsense."

"True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise; it arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions."

"I shall endeavor to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality."

"I would... earnestly advise them for their good to order this paper to be punctually served up, and to be looked upon as a part of the tea equipage."

"To be exempt from the passions with which others are tormented, is the only pleasing solitude."

"Thus I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind than as one of the species."

"If I can any way contribute to the diversion or improvement of the country in which I live, I shall leave it, when I am summoned out of it, with the secret satisfaction of thinking that I have not lived in vain."

"Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence, of this virtue."

"Charity is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands."

"The sense of honour is of so fine and delicate a nature, that it is only to be met with in minds which are naturally noble, or in such as have been cultivated by good examples, or a refined education."

"A good conscience is to the soul what health is to the body; it preserves a constant ease and serenity within us, and more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can possibly befall us."

"Blessings may appear under the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let him have patience, and he will see them in their proper figures."

"Courage that grows from constitution very often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it, and when it is only a kind of instinct in the Soul breaks out on all occasions without judgment or discretion. That courage which proceeds from the sense of our duty, and from the fear of offending Him that made us, acts always in a uniform manner, and according to the dictates of right reason."

"When I read the rules of criticism, I immediately inquire after the works of the author who has written them, and by that means discover what it is he likes in a composition."

"Knowledge is, indeed, that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another."

"Justice discards party, friendship, kindred, and is therefore always represented as blind."

"To be perfectly just is an attribute in the divine nature; to be so to the utmost of our abilities, is the glory of man."

"There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice."

"From hence, let fierce contending nations know, What dire effects from civil discord flow."

"Sweet are the slumbers of the virtuous man."

"What means this heaviness that hangs upon me? This lethargy that creeps through all my senses? Nature, oppress'd and harrass'd out with care, Sinks down to rest."

"The soul, secured in her existence, smiles At the drawn dagger, and defies its point."

"The ideal man bears the accidents of life With dignity and grace, the best of circumstances."

"Nature does nothing without purpose or uselessly."

"I'm weary of conjectures,—this must end 'em. Thus am I doubly armed: my death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me: This in a moment brings me to an end; But this informs me I shall never die. The soul, secured in her existence, smiles At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds."

"Eternity! thou pleasing dreadful thought! Through what variety of untried being, Through what new scenes and changes must we pass!"

"It must be so — Plato, thou reasonest well! Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, This longing after immortality? Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, O falling into nought? Why shrinks the soul Back on herself, and startles at destruction? 'Tis the divinity that stirs within us; 'Tis heaven itself, that points out an hereafter, And intimates eternity to man."

"If there's a power above us, (And that there is all nature cries aloud Through all her works) he must delight in virtue."

"The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the wars of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds."