Our wisdom lies as much at the mercy of fortune as our possessions do.

Death, like the sun, cannot be looked at steadily.

Even the most disinterested love is, after all, but a kind of bargain, in which self-love always proposes to be the gainer one wayor another.

In love we often doubt what we most believe.

Moderation is caused by the fear of exciting the envy and contempt which those merit who are intoxicated with their good fortune; it is a vain display of our strength of mind, and in short the moderation of men at their greatest height is only a desire to appear greater than their fortune.

We often pay our debts not because it is only fair that we should, but to make future loans easier.

It is praiseworthy even to attempt a great action.