Sometimes there are accidents in our lives the skillful extrication from which demands a little folly.

There is a form of eminence which does not depend on fate; it is an air which sets us apart and seems to prtend great things; it is the value which we unconsciously attach to ourselves; it is the quality which wins us deference of others; more than birth, position, or ability, it gives us ascendance.

All our qualities, whether good or bad, are unstable and ambiguous, and almost all are at the mery of chance.

There are few virtuous women who are not bored with their trade.

Heat of blood makes young people change their inclinations often, and habit makes old ones keep to theirs a great while.

Great and glorious events which dazzle the beholder are represented by politicians as the outcome of grand designs whereas they are usually products of temperaments and passions.

Whatever distrust we may have of the sincerity of those who converse with us, we always believe they will tell us more truth than they do to others.