Most people know no other way of judging men's worth but by the vogue they are in, or the fortunes they have met with.

A great many men's gratitude is nothing but a secret desire to hook in more valuable kindnesses hereafter.

The boldest stroke and best act of friendship is not to disclose our own failings to a friend, but to show him his own.

It is harder to hide the feelings we have than to feign the ones we do not have.

The height of ability consists in a thorough knowledge of the real value of things, and of the genius of the age in which we live.

Fortune makes our virtues and vices visible, just as light does the objects of sight.

One may outwit another, but not all the others.