Virtue would not make such advances if there were not a little vanity to keep it company.

We feel good and ill only in proportion to our self-love.

Bravery in simple soldiers is a dangerous trade, to which they have bound themselves to get their livelihood.

The appearances of goodness and merit often meet with a greater reward from the world than goodness and merit themselves.

To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.

Flattery is a base coin which is current only through our vanity.

Nothing is rarer than true good nature; they who are reputed to have it are generally only pliant or weak.