The gallantry of the mind consists in agreeable flattery.

That which occasions so many mistakes in the computations of men, when they expect return for favors, is that the giver's pride and the receiver's cannot agree upon the value of the kindness done.

Of all our faults, the one that we excuse most easily is idleness.

Whatever distrust we may have of the sincerity of those who converse with us, we always believe they will tell us more truth than they do to others.

Hypocrisy is an homage that vice renders to virtue.

Whatever discoveries we may have made in the regions of self-love, there still remain many unknown lands.

Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect.