A man convinced of his own merit will accept misfortune as an honor, for thus can he persuade others, as well as himself, that he is a worthy target for the arrows of fate.

Spiritual health is no more stable than bodily; and though we may seem unaffected by the passions we are just as liable to be carried away by them as to fall ill when in good health.

Innocence is lucky if it finds the same protection as guilt

Jealousy is in some measure just and reasonable, since it merely aims at keeping something that belongs to us or we think belongsto us, whereas envy is a frenzy that cannot bear anything that belongs to others.

When our vices desert us, we flatter ourselves that we are deserting our vices.

It is not always for virtue's sake that women are virtuous.

What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.