The wind which snuffs the candle fans the fire.

We often make use of envenomed praise, that reveals on the rebound, as it were, defects in those praised which we dare not exposeany other way.

The reason we do not let our friends see the very bottom of our hearts is not so much distrust of them as distrust of ourselves.

There is merit without rank, but there is no rank without some merit.

To establish oneself in the world, one does all one can to seem established there already.

There are a great many simpletons who know themselves to be so, and who make a very cunning use of their own simplicity.

Avarice misapprehends itself almost always. There is no passion which more often will miss its aim, nor upon which the present has so much influence to the prejudice of the future.