Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things themselves; we are happy from possessing what we like, not from possessing what others like.

Minds of moderate caliber ordinarily condemn everthing which is beyond their range.

If we are incapable of finding peace in ourselves, it is pointless to search elsewhere.

Ridicule dishonors a man more than dishonor does.

The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune.

What men call friendship is no more than a partnership, a mutual care of interests, an exchange of favors - in a word, it is a sort of traffic, in which self-love ever proposes to be the gainer.

Το know how to profit by good advice, requires nearly as much ability as to know how to act for one'self.