Fancy sets the value on the gifts of fortune.

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

Boredom ... causes us to neglect more duties than does interest.

Some beautiful things are more dazzling when they are still imperfect than when they have been too perfectly crafted.

For the credit of virtue we must admit that the greatest misfortunes of men are those into which they fall through their crimes.

One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines.

Gratitude is like credit; it is the backbone of our relations; frequently we pay our debts not because equity demands that we should, but to facilitate future loans.