The best time to frame an answer to the letters of a friend, is the moment you receive them. Then the warmth of friendship, and the intelligence received, most forcibly cooperate. – William Shenstone
Hope is a flatterer, but the most upright of all parasites for she frequents the poor mans hut, as well as the palace of his superior. – William Shenstone
Jealousy is the fear or apprehension of superiority: envy our uneasiness under it. – William Shenstone
The proper means of increasing the love we bear our native country is to reside some time in a foreign one. – William Shenstone
Letters are above all useful as a means of expressing the ideal self; and no other method of communication is quite so good for this purpose. In letters we can reform without practice, beg without humiliation, snip and shape embarrassing experiences to the measure of our own desires… – Elizabeth Hardwick