The State not seldom tolerates a comparatively great evil to keep out millions of lesser ills and inconveniences which otherwise would be inevitable ….

He who only writes to suit the taste of the age, considers himself more than his writings. We should always aim at perfection, and then posterity wil….

All the world says of a coxcomb that he is a coxcomb; but no one dares to say so to his face, and he dies without knowing it..

A man has made great progress in cunning when he does not seem too clever to others..

It is a proof of boorishness to confer a favor with a bad grace; it is the act of giving that is hard and painful. How little does a smile cost?.

A pious man is one who would be an atheist if the king were..

High birth is a gift of fortune which should never challenge esteem towards those who receive it, since it costs them neither study nor labor..

To endeavor to forget anyone is a certain way of thinking of nothing else..

If some persons died, and others did not die, death would be a terrible affliction..

It is a great misfortune not to possess sufficient wit to speak well, nor sufficient judgment to keep silent..

The fear of old age disturbs us, yet we are not certain of becoming old..

Avoid making yourself the subject of conversation..

Men blush less for their crimes than for their weaknesses and vanity. [Fr., Les hommes rougissent moins de leur crimes que de leurs faiblesses et de ….

If women were by nature what they make themselves by art; if they were to lose suddenly all the freshness of their complexion, and their faces to bec….

The very essence of politeness seems to be to take care that by our words and actions we make other people pleased with us as well as with themselves..

It seems to me that the spirit of politeness is a certain attention in causing that, by our words and by our manners, others may be content with us a….

When we lavish our money we rob our heir; when we merely save it we rob ourselves..

The whole genius of an author consists in describing well, and delineating character well. Homer, Plato, Virgil, Horace only excel other writers by t….

If this life is unhappy, it is a burden to us, which it is difficult to bear; if it is in every respect happy, it is dreadful to be deprived of it; s….

If our life is unhappy it is painful to bear; if it is happy it is horrible to lose, So the one is pretty equal to the other..

There are certain people who so ardently and passionately desire a thing, that from dread of losing it they leave nothing undone to make them lose it..