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.

Our desires always disappoint us; for though we meet with something that gives us satisfaction, yet it never thoroughly answers our expectation. [However disappointment can always be removed if we remember it could have turned out worse.]

Politeness of mind consists in thinking chaste and refined thoughts.

Moderation is represented as a virtue in order to restrain the ambition of great men, and to console those of a meaner condition in their lesser merit and fortune.

The trust that we put in ourselves makes us feel trust in others.

We acknowledge our faults in order to repair by our sincerity the damage they have done us in the eyes of others.

People's personalities, like buildings, have various facades, some pleasant to view, some not.