What would the world do without tea? – how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.

Live always in the best company when you read.

Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent. Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed.

You must not think me necessarily foolish because I am facetious, nor will I consider you necessarily wise because you are grave.

Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.

Errors to be dangerous must have a great deal of truth mingled with them. It is only from this alliance that they can ever obtain an extensive circulation.

To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can.

There is one piece of advice, in a life of study, which I think no one will object to; and that is, every now and then to be completely idle – to do nothing at all.