A generous mind identifies itself with all around; but a selfish one identifies all things with self. FRIENDS. Our friends always wish us to be something which we are not; it is only our enemies that wish us to remain as we are. PREJUDICES. Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart. APPEARANCES. We are judged not by the virtues we possess, but by the indications of them which we assume. Like the style adopted for epistolary usage, in which we sign ourselves the obedient servants of persons we have no value for, so the semblance of virtue imposes on many, and satisfies all. PLEASURES. Pleasures are like those mountains which charm us when beheld from a distance; but lose all the beauty of their deceitful hue when approached near. CONCEIT. It is usually the most conceited people who take offence at the affectation of others. FRIENDS. Friends, like wine, require to be kept before use. GRATITUDE. Gratitude is a prospective, rather than a retrospective virtue. VIRTUE. We seldom attain virtue until we have been purified by affliction—as only martyrs become saints. JUDGMENT OF WORKS. The frame of mind in which we read a work, often influences our judgment of it. The predominant feeling of the moment colours all that we read; and we are often surprised on a second perusal, to find no longer either the merits or defects which we supposed it to contain. AMBITION. As the pearl, which is the object of universal admiration, is produced by the disease of the oyster, so do many of the most illustrious actions originate in that mental disease,—an overweening ambition. GENIUS. Men of genius may be said to reside in an illuminated and unapproachable palace of crystal, which, while it displays their brightness, reveals also certain small blemishes, which are rendered disproportionally conspicuous by the contrast of light; while ordinary mortals dwell in opaque residences, in which no ray discloses the grave faults of mediocrity. KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD. We betray a profound knowledge of the world, by withdrawing from it when misfortune assails us. WEAK MEN. A weak man will sustain afflictions that destroy a strong one, as the willow which yields its pliant branches to the blast escapes the destruction of the oak that resists it. WIT. Wit is the lightning of the mind, reason the sunshine, and reflection the moonlight; for as the bright orb of the night owes its lustre to the sun, so does reflection owe its existence to reason.