The best thing next to wit is a consciousness that it is not in us; without wit, a man might then know how to behave himself, so as not to appear to ….

When a book raises your spirit, and inspires you with noble and manly thoughts, seek for no other test of its excellence. It is good, and made by a g….

The favor of princes does not preclude the existence of merit, and yet does not prove that it exists. [Fr., La faveur des princes n'exclut pas le mer….

If you wish to be held in esteem, you must ssociate only with those who estimable..

There is nothing which continues longer than a moderate fortune; nothing of which one sees sooner the end than a large fortune..

We must confess that at present the rich predominate, but the future will be for the virtuous and ingenious..

The wise person often shuns society for fear of being bored..

We perceive when love begins and when it declines by our embarrassment when alone together..

Caprice in women often infringes upon the rules of decency..

There is no employment in the world so laborious as that of making to one's self a great name; life ends before one has scarcely made the first rough….

We must strive to make ourselves really worthy of some employment. We need pay no attention to anything else; the rest is the business of others..

The sublime only paints the true, and that too in noble objects; it paints it in all its phases, its cause and its effect; it is the most worthy expr….

Duty is what goes most against the grain, because in doing that we do only what we are strictly obliged to, and are seldom much praised for it..

It is because of men that women dislike one another..

The most important things must be said simply, for they are spoiled by bombast; whereas trivial things must be described grandly, for they are suppor….

False modesty is the refinement of vanity. It is a lie..

Envy and hatred go together. Mutually strengthened by the fact pursue the same object..

A modest man never talks of himself..

A faithless woman, if known to be such by the person concerned, is but faithless; if she is believed faithful, she is treacherous..

We should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while they are alive is dangerous, an….

Man makes up his mind he will preach, and he preaches..