’Tis education forms the common mind,
Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined. 
—­Pope.

Egotism.—­When all is summed up, a man never speaks of himself without loss; his accusations of himself are always believed, his praises never.—­Montaigne.

Be your character what it will, it will be known; and nobody will take it upon your word.—­Chesterfield.

We would rather speak ill of ourselves than not to talk of ourselves at all.—­La ROCHEFOUCAULD.

It is never permissible to say, I say.—­Madame Necker.

The more you speak of yourself, the more you are likely to lie. 
—­Zimmermann.

What hypocrites we seem to be whenever we talk of ourselves!  Our words sound so humble, while our hearts are so proud.—­Hare.

The more anyone speaks of himself, the less he likes to hear another talked of.—­Lavater.

Do you wish men to speak well of you?  Then never speak well of yourself.—­Pascal.

He who thinks he can find in himself the means of doing without others is much mistaken; but he who thinks that others cannot do without him is still more mistaken.—­La ROCHEFOUCAULD.

Eloquence.—­Extemporaneous and oral harangues will always have this advantage over those that are read from a manuscript; every burst of eloquence or spark of genius they may contain, however studied they may have been beforehand, will appear to the audience to be the effect of the sudden inspiration of talent.—­Colton.

True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing but what is necessary.—­La ROCHEFOUCAULD.

True eloquence, indeed, does not consist in speech.  It cannot be brought from far.  Labor and learning may toil for it, but they will toil in vain.  Words and phrases may be marshalled in every way, but they cannot compass it.  It must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the occasion.—­Webster.

There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the air of a speaker, as in his choice of words.—­La ROCHEFOUCAULD.

Employment.—­Life will frequently languish, even in the hands of the busy, if they have not some employment subsidiary to that which forms their main pursuit.—­Blair.

The rust rots the steel which use preserves.—­Lytton.

Indolence is stagnation; employment is life.—­Seneca.

The devil does not tempt people whom he finds suitably employed. 
—­Jeremy Taylor.

Employment, which Galen calls “nature’s physician,” is so essential to human happiness, that indolence is justly considered as the mother of misery.—­Burton.

Enthusiasm.—­Enthusiasm is the height of man; it is the passing from the human to the divine.—­Emerson.

Every production of genius must be the production of enthusiasm.  —­Beaconsfield.