I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. – Francis Bacon
Discretion of speech is more than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal is more than to speak in good words or in good order. – Francis Bacon
Judges ought to be more learned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue. – Francis Bacon
Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. – Francis Bacon
A few more days, and this essay will follow the Defensio Populi to the dust and silence of the upper shelf… For a month or two it will occupy a few minutes of chat in every drawing-room, and a few columns in every magazine; and it will then be withdrawn, to make room for the forthcoming novelties. – Thomas Babington Macaulay