It is not expedient or wise to examine our friends too closely; few persons are raised in our esteem by a close examination. [ Rochefoucauld ]

Nothing but the right can ever be expedient, since that can never be true expediency which would sacrifice a great good to a less. [ Whately ]

As ceremony is the invention of wise men to keep fools at a distance, so good breeding is an expedient to make fools and wise men equal. [ Steele ]

When men live as if there were no God, it becomes expedient for them that there should be none; and then they endeavor to persuade themselves so. [ Tillotson ]

It is expedient to have an acquaintance with those who have looked into the world; who know men, understand business, and can give you good intelligence and good advice when they are wanted. [ Bishop Horne ]

The censure of frequent and long parentheses has led writers into the preposterous expedient of leaving out the marks by which they are indicated. It is no cure to a lame man to take away his crutches. [ Whately ]

There would not be any absolute necessity for reserve if the world were honest; yet even then it would prove expedient. For, in order to attain any degree of deference, it seems necessary that people should imagine you have more accomplishments than you discover. [ Shenstone ]