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.

At twenty a man is a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, at fifty a serpent, at sixty a dog, at seventy an ape, at eighty a nothing at all.

A man of honour should never forget what he is because he sees what others are.

It is a novel kind of supremacy, the best that life can offer, to have as servants by skill those who by nature are our masters.

A bad manner spoils everything, even reason and justice; a good one supplies everything, gilds a No, sweetens a truth, and adds a touch of beauty to old age itself.

Tis by no means the least of life's rules: To let things alone.

There is no need to show your ability before everyone.