When asked why he never wrote a book, John (‘Rabbi’) Duncan (1796-1870) replied, ‘I cannot write, I’m just a talker.’ Duncan had a genius for expressing profound thoughts in brief epigrammatic sayings. ‘What I have sought to do in these pages is take the aphorisms of his conversations, as recorded in several original sources and present them here in one book, believing that they will greatly enrich the hearts and minds of all who read them.