A woman is faithful to her first lover for a long time - unless she happens to take a second.

We seldom praise anyone in good earnest, except such as admire us.

Gratitude is like the good faith of traders: it maintains commerce, and we often pay, not because it is just to discharge our debts, but that we may more readily find people to trust us.

All our qualities, whether good or bad, are unstable and ambiguous, and almost all are at the mery of chance.

The virtues and vices are all put in motion by interest.

It seems that nature, which has so wisely disposed our bodily organs with a view to our happiness, has also bestowed on us pride, to spare us the pain of being aware of our imperfections.

Gratitude, in most men, is only a strong and secret hope of greater favors.