We are never so ridiculous through what we are as through what we pretend to be.

Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.

Gratitude is a useless word. You will find it in a dictionary but not in life.

What we call generosity is for the most part only the vanity of giving; and we exercise it because we are more fond of that vanity than of the thing we give.

The greatest fault of a penetrating wit is to go beyond the mark.

Ideas often flash across our minds more complete than we could make them after much labor.

We may say of agreeableness, as distinct from beauty, that it consists in a symmetry of which we know not the rules, and a secret conformity of the features to each other, as also to the air and complexion of the person.