What makes the pain we feel from shame and jealousy so cutting is that vanity can give us no assistance in bearing them.

The esteem of good men is the reward of our worth, but the reputation of the world in general is the gift of our fate.

Passion often makes fools of the wisest men and gives the silliest wisdom.

The reason why lovers are never bored together is that they are always talking of themselves.

If one acts rightly and honestly, it is difficult to decide whether it is the effect of integrity or skill.

The secret of pleasing in conversation is not to explain too much everything; to say them half and leave a little for divination is a mark of the good opinion we have of others, and nothing flatters their self-love more.

When we seek reconciliation with our enemies, it is commonly out of a desire to better our own condition, a being harassed and tired out with a state of war, and a fear of some ill accident which we are willing to prevent.