Innocence is lucky if it finds the same protection as guilt

There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves.

Love, all agreeable as it is, charms more by the fashion in which it displays itself, than by its own true merit.

It is the prerogative of great men only to have great defects.

We are almost always wearied in the company of persons with whom we are not permitted to be weary.

We always love those who admire us, but we do not always love those whom we admire.

Confidence always pleases those who receive it. It is a tribute we pay to their merit, a deposit we commit to their trust, a pledge that gives them a claim upon us, a kind of dependence to which we voluntarily submit.