Satire is at once the most agreeable and most dangerous of mental qualities. It always pleases when it is refined, but we always fear those who use it too much; yet satire should be allowed when unmixed with spite, and when the person satirized can join in the satire.

Few things are needed to make a wise man happy; nothing can make a fool content; that is why most men are miserable.

The soul's maladies have their relapses like the body's. What we take for a cure is often just a momentary rally or a new form of the disease.

Most people judge men by their success or their good fortune.

Strength and weakness of mind are misnomers; they are really nothing but the good or bad health of our bodily organs.

The judgments our enemies make about us come nearer to the truth than those we make about ourselves.

In love we often doubt what we most believe.