Ability wins us the esteem of the true men; luck, that of the people.
Virtues lose themselves in self-interest, as rivers in the sea.
Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.
Absence cools moderate passions, and inflames violent ones; just as the wind blows out candles, but kindles fires.
The only thing constant in life is change
We should often blush at our noblest deeds if the world were to see all their underlying motives.