“We promise in proportion to our hopes, and we deliver in proportion to our fears.”

Nothing hinders a thing from being natural so much as the straining ourselves to make it seem so.

Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love.

Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.

The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune.

In sum, simply a business from which those involved propose to derive a steady profit for their own self-love.

We give advice, but we cannot give the wisdom to profit by it.

We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.

We are easily comforted for the misfortunes of our friends, when those misfortunes give us an occasion of expressing our affection and solicitude.

We say little, when vanity does not make us speak.

Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.

Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever.

To know how to hide one’s ability is great skill.

There are very few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other.

Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted.

Ridicule dishonors a man more than dishonor does.

Our actions seem to have their lucky and unlucky stars, to which a great part of that blame and that commendation is due which is given to the actions themselves.

All mankind rules its women, and we rule all mankind, but our women rule us.

Ours is the century of enforced travel of disappearances.

Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness

We are all drifting reefwards now, and faith is our only anchor.

The danger always exists that our technology will serve as a buffer between us and nature, a block between us and the deeper dimensions of our own experience.

The true guide of our conduct is no outward authority, but the voice of God, who comes down to dwell in our souls, who knows all our thoughts, to whom are owing all the truth we know, and all the good we do; for vice is voluntary, and virtue comes from the grace of the heavenly spirit within.

There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.

We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things. Nay, from what you have told me of your experiences already, you know something of what strange things there may be.