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.

Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things.

The strongest symptom of wisdom in man is his being sensible of his own follies.

Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.

We are deceived if we think that mind and judgment are two different matters: judgment is but the extent of the light of the mind. This light penetrates to the bottom of matters; it remarks all that can be remarked, and perceives what appears imperceptible. Therefore we must agree that it is the extent of the light in the mind that produces all the effects which we attribute to judgment.

Hope and fear are inseparable.

We should only affect compassion, and carefully avoid having any.