Social intercourse, even friendship among most people, is a merely a business arrangement that lasts only so long as there is need..

There is a certain hidden mediocrity in those who are stationed above us in life, an ability to take liberties in their pursuit of pleasures and dive….

Sometimes we praise the way things used to be in order to blame the present, and we esteem what is no longer in order to scorn what is..

Just as there is no action weaker or more unreasonable than to submit one's judgment to another's, where there is no advantage to oneself, so also th….

The shame that comes to us as we see ourselves praised when we are unworthy of it often gives us the occasion to accomplish things that we might neve….

We often value the exterior and superficial aspect of things more than their inner reality. Bad manners taint everything even justice and reason. The….

When High and Mighty people want to make us believe that they possess some good quality which they in fact do not have, it is dangerous to show that ….

Even the best-natured people, if uninstructed, are always blind and uncertain. We must take pains to instruct ourselves so that ignorance makes us ne….

We nearly always make ourselves masters of those whom we know well, because he who is thoroughly understood is in some sense subject to those who und….

It is better that great peoples should seek out glory, or even vanity, in their deeds, than that they should remain indifferent . For even if they ar….

There is always enough self-love hidden beneath the greatest devoutness to set limits on charity..

There are petty-minded people who cannot endure to be reminded of their ignorance because, since they are usually quite blind to all things, quite fo….

There is no one who cannot derive great help and great benefit from learning; but there are also only a few people who do not receive a great harm fr….

The maxims of Christian life, which should draw upon the truths of the Gospel, are always partially symbolic of the mind and temperament of those who….

Although most friendships that exist do not merit the name, we can nevertheless make use of them in accordance with our needs, as a kind of commercia….

Pettiness of mind, ignorance and presumption are the cause of stubbornness, because stubborn people only want to believe what they themselves can ima….

True merit does not depend on the times or on fashion. Those who have no other advantage than courtly manners lose it when they are away from court. ….

It is a very common failing, never to be pleased with our fortune nor displeased with our character..

It is a strength of character to acknowledge our failings and our strong points, and it is a weakness of character not to remain in harmony with both….

We must accustom ourselves to the follies of others and not be astonished at the foolishness that takes place in our presence..

When an opinionated person starts to challenge something, his mind shuts out all that could clear up the matter. The argument irritates him, however ….