The best skill at cards is knowing when to discard.
A gilded No is more satisfactory than a dry Yes.
Every fool stands convinced; and everyone convinced is a fool. The faultier a person’s judgement the firmer their convictions.
If there is nothing left to desire, there is everything to fear, an unhappy state of happiness.
Possession hinders enjoyment. It merely gives you the right to keep things for or from others, and thus you gain more enemies than friends.
The wise are always impatient, for he that increases knowledge increases impatience of folly.
Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed.
When you counsel someone, you should appear to be reminding him of something he had forgotten, not of the light he was unable to see.
Maturity of mind is best shown in slow belief.
Passion colors all that it touches in its own hues.
An ounce of prudence is worth a pound of cleverness.
They make the greatest show of what they have done, who have done least.
Words are feminine; deeds are masculine.
You can cultivate taste, as you can the intellect. Full understanding whets the appetite and desire, and, later, sharpens the enjoyment of possession.
Know how to choose well. Most of life depends thereon. It needs good taste and correct judgment, for which neither intellect nor study suffices.
Know how to use evasion. That is how smart people get out of difficulties.
Character and intelligence are the poles you talent spins on, displaying your gifts.
All victories breed, and that over your superior is foolish or fatal.
The best remedy for disturbances is to let them run their course, for so they quiet down.
Keep to yourself the final touches of your art.