We should not be upset that others hide the truth from us, when we hide it so often from ourselves.

Pity is often a reflection of our own evils in the ills of others. It is a delicate foresight of the troubles into which we may fall.

There is great skill in knowing how to conceal one's skill.

All women seem by nature to be coquettes.

The judgments our enemies make about us come nearer to the truth than those we make about ourselves.

Happiness does not consist in things themselves but in the relish we have of them.

The aversion to lying is often a hidden ambition to render our words credible and weighty, and to attach a religious aspect to our conversation.