The reason we do not let our friends see the very bottom of our hearts is not so much distrust of them as distrust of ourselves.

The thing that makes our friendships so short and changeable is that the qualities and dispositions of the soul are very hard to know, and those of the understanding and wit very easy.

Our good qualities expose us more to hatred and persecution than all the ill we do.

We often select envenomed praise which, by a reaction upon those we praise, shows faults we could not have shown by other means.

The measure of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it.

We are always bored by the very people by whom it is vital not to be bored.

The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than others are saying.