Nations seldom realise till too late how prominent a place a sound system of finance holds among the vital elements of national stability and well-be… - William Edward Hartpole Lecky

There was a tradition that Pythagoras had himself penetrated to India, and learnt philosophy from the gymnosophists.

Men continually forget that Happiness is a condition of Mind, and not a disposition of circumstances, and one of the most common of errors is that of confusing happiness with the means of happiness, sacrificing the first for the attainment of the second.

At one time the benevolent affections embrace merely the family, soon the circle expanding includes first a class, then a nation, then a coalition of nations, then all humanity, and finally, its influence is felt in the dealings of man with the animal world. In each of these stages a standard is formed, different from that of the preceding stage, but in each case the same tendency is recognised as virtue.