We do not despise all those who have vices, but we do despise those that have no virtue.

There is a form of eminence which does not depend on fate; it is an air which sets us apart and seems to prtend great things; it is the value which we unconsciously attach to ourselves; it is the quality which wins us deference of others; more than birth, position, or ability, it gives us ascendance.

Moderation is like sobriety: you would like to have some more, but are afraid of making yourself ill.

Though nature be ever so generous, yet can she not make a hero alone. Fortune must contribute her part too; and till both concur, the work cannot be perfected.

There are several remedies which will cure love, but there are no infallible ones.

One thing which makes us find so few people who appear reasonable and agreeable in conversation is, that there is scarcely any one who does not think more of what he is about to say than of answering precisely what is said to him.

We sometimes imagine we hate flattery, but we only hate the way we are flattered.