Every one speaks well of his own heart, but no one dares speak well of his own mind.

Praise is a more ingenious, concealed, and subtle kind of flattery, that satisfies both the giver and the receiver, though by verydifferent ways. The one accepts it as a reward due to his merit; the other gives it that he may be looked upon as a just and discerning person.

It is more often from pride than from defective understanding that people oppose established opinions: they find the best places taken in the good party and are reluctant to accept inferior ones.

The best way to rise in society is to use all possible means of persuading people that one has already risen in society.

We speak little if not egged on by vanity.

Folly pursues us at all periods of our lives. If someone seems wise it is only because his follies are proportionate to his age and fortune.

Gratitude is a useless word. You will find it in a dictionary but not in life.