There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves.

Flattery is a counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation.

Nothing ought more to humiliate men who have merited great praise than the care they still take to boast of little things.

Tastes in young people are changed by natural impetuosity, and in the aged are preserved by habit.

Few things are impracticable in themselves; and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed.

Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily.

There are various sorts of curiosity; one is from interest, which makes us desire to know that which may be useful to us; and the other, from pride which comes from the wish to know what others are ignorant of.