A lofty mind always thinks nobly, it easily creates vivid, agreeable, and natural fancies, places them in their best light, clothes them with all appropriate adornments, studies others' tastes, and clears away from its own thoughts all that is useless and disagreeable.

There are but very few men clever enough to know all the mischief they do.

The shame that arises from praise which we do not deserve often makes us do things we should otherwise never have attempted.

Some good qualities are like the senses: Those who are entirely deprived of them can have no notion of them.

To establish yourself in the world a person must do all they can to appear already established.

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.

In order to succeed in the world people do their upmost to appear successful.