Smallness of mind is the cause of stubbornness, and we do not credit readily what is beyond our view.

Innocence does not find near so much protection as guilt.

Clemency, which we make a virtue of, proceeds sometimes from vanity, sometimes from indolence, often from fear, and almost always from a mixture of all three.

Our distrust of another justifies his deceit.

For the credit of virtue we must admit that the greatest misfortunes of men are those into which they fall through their crimes.

We are much mistaken if we think that men are always brave from a principle of valor, or women chaste from a principle of modesty.

Sincerity is an openness of heart; we find it in very few people; what we usually see is only an artful dissimulation to win the confidence of others.