There are few things we should keenly desire if we really knew what we wanted.

Neither love nor fire can subsist without perpetual motion; both cease to live so soon as they cease to hope, or to fear.

Fortune and humor govern the world.

It is easier for a man to be thought fit for an employment that he has not, than for one he stands already possessed of, and is exercising.

It is not expedient or wise to examine our friends too closely; few persons are raised in our esteem by a close examination.

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

It is most difficult to speak when we are ashamed of being silent.