Jealousy is the greatest of all evils, and the one that arouses the least pity in the person who causes it.

The secret of pleasing in conversation is not to explain too much everything; to say them half and leave a little for divination is a mark of the good opinion we have of others, and nothing flatters their self-love more.

To be a great man it is necessary to know how to profit by the whole of our good fortune.

A readiness to believe ill of others, before we have duly examined it, is the effect of laziness and pride. We are eager to find aculprit, and loath to give ourselves the trouble of examining the crime.

Avarice is more directly opposed to thrift than generosity is.

Hope, deceiving as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route.

Quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side.