In friendship, as in love, we are often more happy from the things we are ignorant of than from those we are acquainted with.

The esteem of good men is the reward of our worth, but the reputation of the world in general is the gift of our fate.

Generally speaking, we would make a good bargain by renouncing all the good that people say of us, upon condition they would say no ill.

Men more easily renounce their interests than their tastes.

It is no tragedy to do ungrateful people favors, but it is unbearable to be indebted to a scoundrel.

Consolation for unhappiness can often be found in a certain satisfaction we get from looking unhappy.

There are some people upon whom their very faults and failings sit gracefully; and there are others whose very excellencies and accomplishments do not become them.