In morals what begins in fear usually ends in wickedness; in religion what begins in fear usually ends in fanaticism. Fear, either as a principle or a motive, is the beginning of all evil.
Conversation may be compared to a lyre with seven chords - philosophy, art, poetry, love, scandal, and the weather.
We can sometimes love what we do not understand, but it is impossible completely to understand what we do not love.
All my experience of the world teaches me that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the safe and just side of a question is the generous and merciful side.