We confess to little faults only to persuade ourselves we have no great ones.

Moderation is caused by the fear of exciting the envy and contempt which those merit who are intoxicated with their good fortune; it is a vain display of our strength of mind, and in short the moderation of men at their greatest height is only a desire to appear greater than their fortune.

Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves.

The old begin to complain of the conduct of the young when they themselves are no longer able to set a bad example.

Our virtues are often, in reality, no better than vices disguised.

The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind, and they are in continual danger of breaking the skin and bursting out again.

We should scarcely desire things ardently if we were perfectly acquainted with what we desire.