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.

The most violent passions sometimes leave us at rest, but vanity agitates us constantly.

When love becomes labored we welcome an act of infidelity towards ourselves to free us from fidelity.

It is more often from pride than from defective understanding that people oppose established opinions: they find the best places taken in the good party and are reluctant to accept inferior ones.

There are very few things impossible in themselves; and we do not want means to conquer difficulties so much as application and resolution in the use of means.

When fortune surprises us by giving us some great office without having gradually led us to expect it, or without having raised our hopes, it is well nigh impossible to occupy it well, and to appear worthy to fill it.

We often select envenomed praise which, by a reaction upon those we praise, shows faults we could not have shown by other means.