It is no tragedy to do ungrateful people favors, but it is unbearable to be indebted to a scoundrel.

Politeness is a desire to be treated politely, and to be esteemed polite oneself.

Fearlessness is a more than ordinary strength of mind, which raises the soul above the troubles, disorders, and emotions which theprospect of great dangers are used to produce. And by this inward strength it is that heroes preserve themselves in a calm and quiet state, and enjoy a presence of mind and the free use of their reason in the midst of those terrible accidents that amaze and confound other people.

Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.

The man that thinks he loves his mistress for her own sake is mightily mistaken.

Gratitude is like the good faith of traders: it maintains commerce, and we often pay, not because it is just to discharge our debts, but that we may more readily find people to trust us.

Constancy in love is a perpetual inconstancy which fixes our hearts successively to all the qualities of the person loved--sometimes admiring one and sometimes another above all the rest--so that this constancy roves as far as it can, and is no better than inconstancy, confined within the compass of one person.