Our good qualities expose us more to hatred and persecution than all the ill we do.

The evil that we do does not attract to us so much persecution and hatred as our good qualities.

We sometimes imagine we hate flattery, but we only hate the way we are flattered.

We frequently do good in order to enable us to do evil later with impunity exemption of punishment.

To boast that one never flirts is actually a kind of flirtation.

Prudence and love are inconsistent; in proportion as the last increases, the other decreases.

People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and others may think them considerable enough to be the envy and the mark of fortune.