Only the great can afford to have great defects.

A man convinced of his own merit will accept misfortune as an honor, for thus can he persuade others, as well as himself, that he is a worthy target for the arrows of fate.

Vanity, shame, and above all disposition, often make men brave and women chaste.

To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation.

The surest proof of being endowed with noble qualities is to be free from envy.

Sometimes we think we dislike flattery, but it is only the way it is done that we dislike.

None deserve praise for being good who have not the spirit to be bad: goodness, for the most part, is nothing but indolence or weakness of will.