A necessary evil is a contradiction in terms.
One flesh, in many marriages, is no mere metaphor: the vitality of husband and wife mix, and one waxes as the other wanes.
We have laws against private usury, yet where are the laws against public uxory?
Youth is a terrible thing not to waste.
Necessity is contingency in retrospect.
Certain villains achieve martyrdom by the peculiar luck of being murdered by men still more villainous.
Anyone who writes enough can be rendered an idiot, or a genius, by the simple expedient of direct quotation.
We are pleased when the serious man clowns, dismayed when the clown turns serious.
To lie, cheat, and steal may be optimally adaptive, provided one maintains a reputation for never lying, cheating, or stealing.
Ability without ambition is tragedy: ambition without ability is farce.