There are persons whose only merit consists in saying and doing stupid things at the right time, and who ruin all if they change their manners.

We are almost always bored by just those whom we must not find boring.

To be a great man it is necessary to turn to account all opportunities.

The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acpuire it.

Sometimes there are accidents in our lives the skillful extrication from which demands a little folly.

Sometimes we think we dislike flattery, but it is only the way it is done that we dislike.

Some people are so extremely whiffling and inconsiderable that they are as far from any real faults as from substantial virtues.