It is a great act of cleverness to be able to conceal one's being clever.

Gratitude is a lively sense of benefits to come.

Humility is the sure evidence of Christian virtues. Without it, we retain all our faults still, and they are only covered over with pride, which hides them from other men's observation, and sometimes from our own too.

The temperament that produces a talent for little things is the opposite of that required for great ones.

There are two things which Man cannot look at directly without flinching: the sun and death.

Politeness of mind consists in thinking chaste and refined thoughts.

The height of ability consists in a thorough knowledge of the real value of things, and of the genius of the age in which we live.