“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.”

If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources.

It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves.

Philosophy finds it an easy matter to vanquish past and future evils, but the present are commonly too hard for it.

The intellect is always fooled by the heart.

We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish.

The sure mark of one born with noble qualities is being born without envy.

The desire to seem clever often keeps us from being so.

Most of our faults are more pardonable than the means we use to conceal them.

We often pardon those that annoy us, but we cannot pardon those we annoy.

Pride does not wish to owe and vanity does not wish to pay.

Love often leads on to ambition, but seldom does one return from ambition to love.

Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences.

Timidity is a fault for which it is dangerous to reprove persons whom we wish to correct of it.

I have always been an admirer. I regard the gift of admiration as indispensable if one is to amount to something; I don’t know where I would be without it.

In the human heart new passions are forever being born; the overthrow of one almost always means the rise of another.

There is no better proof of a man’s being truly good than his desiring to be constantly under the observation of good men.