The contempt of riches in the philosophers was a concealed desire of revenging on fortune the injustice done to their merit, by despising the good she denied them.

We should wish for few things with eagerness, if we perfectly knew the nature of that which was the object of our desire.

Pity is often a reflection of our own evils in the ills of others. It is a delicate foresight of the troubles into which we may fall.

There is scarcely any man sufficiently clever to appreciate all the evil he does.

Jealousy is the greatest of all evils, and the one that arouses the least pity in the person who causes it.

Renewed friendships require more care than those that have never been broken.

We often boast that we are never bored; but yet we are so conceited that we do not perceive how often we bore others.