Perfect valour consists in doing without witnesses that which we would be capable of doing before everyone.

We are much harder on people who betray us in small ways than on people who betray others in great ones.

As long as we love, we can forgive.

There are heroes of wickedness, as there are of goodness.

Love of fame, fear of disgrace, schemes for advancement, desire to make life comfortable and pleasant, and the urge to humiliate others are often at the root of the valour men hold in such high esteem.

When we seek reconciliation with our enemies, it is commonly out of a desire to better our own condition, a being harassed and tired out with a state of war, and a fear of some ill accident which we are willing to prevent.

Women's virtue is frequently nothing but a regard to their own quiet and a tenderness for their reputation.