It's easier to know people in general than one person in particular

The appearances of goodness and merit often meet with a greater reward from the world than goodness and merit themselves.

Bodily labor alleviates the pains of the mind and from this arises the happiness of the poor

Few things are needful to make the wise man happy, but nothing satisfies the fool; - and this is the reason why so many of mankind are miserable.

Men's happiness and misery depends altogether as much upon their own humor as it does upon fortune.

A man convinced of his own merit will accept misfortune as an honor, for thus can he persuade others, as well as himself, that he is a worthy target for the arrows of fate.

He that would be a great man must learn to turn every accident to some advantage.