There is at least as much eloquence in the voice, eyes, and air of a speaker as in his choice of words.
It is most difficult to speak when we are ashamed of being silent.
He is a truly virtuous man who wishes always to be open to the observation of honest men.
People are more slanderous from vanity than from malice.
Whilst weakness and timidity keep us to our duty, virtue has often all the honor.
There are no events so disastrous that adroit men do not draw some advantage from them, nor any so fortunate that the imprudent cannot turn to their own prejudice.
The only good copies are those which make us see the absurdity of bad originals.
A man convinced of his own merit will accept misfortune as an honor, for thus can he persuade others, as well as himself, that he is a worthy target for the arrows of fate.
It is as easy to unknowingly deceive yourself as it is to deceive others.
The reason we bitterly hate those who deceive us is because they think they are cleverer than we are.
We are inconsolable at being deceived by our enemies and being betrayed by our friends, yet we are often content in be being treated like that by our own selves.
There is great skill in knowing how to conceal one’s skill.
There are people who in spite of their merit disgust us and others who please us in spite of their faults.
Honest people will respect us for our merit: the public, for our luck.
Sometimes there is equal or more ability in knowing how to use good advice than there is in giving it.
Ideas often flash across our minds more complete than we could make them after much labor.
Love of glory, fear of shame, greed for fortune, the desire to make life agreeable and comfortable, and the wish to depreciate others – all of these are often the causes of the bravery that is spoken so highly of by men.
We should gain more by letting the world see what we are than by trying to seem what we are not.
Fortune and humor govern the world.
Gratitude is a useless word. You will find it in a dictionary but not in life.