What men have called friendship is only a social arrangement, a mutual adjustment of interests, an interchange of services given and received; it is, in sum, simply a business from which those involved propose to derive a steady profit for their own self-love.

The constancy of the wise is only the talent of concealing the agitation of their hearts.

True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.

The one thing people are the most liberal with, is their advice.

We often forgive those who bore us, but we cannot forgive those whom we bore.

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

We often credit ourselves with vices the reverse of what we have, thus when weak we boast of our obstinacy.