If a man were to go by chance at the same time with Burke under a shed, to shun a shower, he would say—‘this is an extraordinary man.’

The black dog I hope always to resist, and in time to drive, though I am deprived of almost all those that used to help me.

When I observed he was a fine cat, saying,

There is a wicked inclination in most people to suppose an old man decayed in his intellects. If a young or middle-aged man, when leaving a company, does not recollect where he laid his hat, it is nothing; but if the same inattention is discovered in an old man, people will shrug up their shoulders, and say, ‘His memory is going.’

Sir, there is no settling the point of precedency between a louse and a flea.

Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult.

How few of his friends’ houses would a man choose to be at when he is sick.

Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.

Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you.

We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich, beyond the dreams of avarice.