There must be something good in a thing that pleases so many; even if it cannot be explained, it is certainly enjoyed.

It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you.

Courtesy is the politic witchery of great personages.

Never lose your self-respect, nor be too familiar with yourself when you are alone. Let your integrity itself be your own standard of rectitude, and be more indebted to the severity of your own judgment of yourself than to all external percepts. Desist from unseemly conduct, rather out of respect for your own virtue than for the strictures of external authority.

Everything foreign is respected, partly because it comes from afar, partly because it is ready made and perfect.

Nature often lets us down when we most need her; let us turn to art.

Know how to use evasion. That is how smart people get out of difficulties.