Conceit causes more conversation than wit.

Flattery is a counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation.

If we resist our passions, it is more due to their weakness than our strength.

Pride indemnifies itself and loses nothing even when it casts away vanity.

To praise princes for virtues they do not possess is to insult them without fear of consequences.

To think to be wise alone is a very great folly.

Great and glorious events which dazzle the beholder are represented by politicians as the outcome of grand designs whereas they are usually products of temperaments and passions.