Funeral pomp is more for the vanity of the living than for the honor of the dead.

Nature has concealed at the bottom of our minds talents and abilities of which we are not aware.

The health of the soul is as precarious as that of the body; for when we seem secure from passions, we are no less in danger of their infection than we are of falling ill when we appear to be well.

Self-interest speaks all manner of tongues and plays all manner of parts, even that of disinterestedness.

Moderation in people who are contented comes from that calm that good fortune lends to their spirit.

Absence cools moderate passions, and inflames violent ones; just as the wind blows out candles, but kindles fires.

Humility is the sure evidence of Christian virtues. Without it, we retain all our faults still, and they are only covered over with pride, which hides them from other men's observation, and sometimes from our own too.