The blindness of men is the most dangerous effect of their pride; it seems to nourish and augment it; it deprives them of knowledge of remedies which can solace their miseries and can cure their faults.

We often do shallow good in order to accomplish evil with impunity.

We love everything on our own account; we even follow our own taste and inclination when we prefer our friends to ourselves; and yet it is this preference alone that constitutes true and perfect friendship.

We have more indolence in the mind than in the body.

We easily forgive our friends those faults that do no affect us ourselves.

Moderation is caused by the fear of exciting the envy and contempt which those merit who are intoxicated with their good fortune; it is a vain display of our strength of mind, and in short the moderation of men at their greatest height is only a desire to appear greater than their fortune.

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