So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do.

From such crooked wood as that which man is made of, nothing straight can be fashioned.

Roads, better harnesses for horses, time-keeping devices, financial instruments like a currency that was recognized everywhere in the kingdom, enforceable contracts - all of this made commerce more appealing than plunder.

The natural desire of good men is knowledge.

The best road to progress is freedom's road.