The aversion to lying is often a hidden ambition to render our words credible and weighty, and to attach a religious aspect to our conversation.

The constancy of the wise is only the art of keeping disquietude to one's self.

The appearances of goodness and merit often meet with a greater reward from the world than goodness and merit themselves.

A fashionable woman is always in love - with herself.

We often see malefactors, when they are led to execution, put on resolution and a contempt of death which, in truth, is nothing else but fearing to look it in the face--so that this pretended bravery may very truly be said to do the same good office to their mind that the blindfold does to their eyes.

We have not strength enough to follow our reason so far as it would carry us.

History never embraces more than a small part of reality