It is not enough to have great qualities; We should also have the management of them.

Flattery is false money, which would not be current were it not for our vanity.

Sincerity is a certain openness of heart. It is to be found in very few, and what we commonly look upon to be so is only a cunningsort of dissimulation, to insinuate ourselves into the confidence of others.

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

A man is sometimes better off deceived about the one he loves, than undeceived.

There is no better proof of a man's being truly good than his desiring to be constantly under the observation of good men.

We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones.