“The finest victory is to conquer one’s own heart.”

Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.

Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which increases with the setting sun of life.

He is very foolish who aims at satisfying all the world and his father.

In this world we must help one another.

I bend but do not break.

A hungry stomach cannot hear.

Lynx-eyes toward our equals, and moles to ourselves.

Alas! we see that the small have always suffered for the follies of the great.

Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.

Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go.

In short, luck’s always to blame.

The ruins of a house may be repaired; why cannot those of the face?

Our condition never satisfies us; the present is always the worst. Though Jupiter should grant his request to each, we should continue to importune him.

Everyone has his faults which he continually repeats: neither fear nor shame can cure them.

No favor can win gratitude from a cat.

Too many expedients may spoil an affair.

I have begun everything with the idea that I could succeed, and I never had much patience with the multitudes of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed.

If everybody trusts one another, then the person who didn’t prevail will faithfully execute the decision as if it was their idea.

The one unforgivable sin is to be boring.

Discretion is the salt, and fancy the sugar of life; the one preserves, the other sweetens it.

No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition.

Handle yourself like a professional on the field and you have one goal-and that’s to win.

One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognize and to develop talent in others.

LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.