Clemency, which we make a virtue of, proceeds sometimes from vanity, sometimes from indolence, often from fear, and almost always from a mixture of all three.

There are follies as catching as contagious disorders.

The only good copies are those which make us see the absurdity of bad originals.

We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones.

If we did not flatter ourselves, the flattery of others could never harm us.

It is more often from pride than from defective understanding that people oppose established opinions: they find the best places taken in the good party and are reluctant to accept inferior ones.

Many men are contemptuous of riches; few can give them away.