It is not expedient or wise to examine our friends too closely; few persons are raised in our esteem by a close examination.

That man, we may be sure, is a person of true worth, whom those who envy him most are yet forced to praise.

It is not always for virtue's sake that women are virtuous.

The intention of cheating no one lays us open to being cheated ourselves.

There are few things we should keenly desire if we really knew what we wanted.

How deceitful hope may be, yet she carries us on pleasantly to the end of life.

If vanity does not entirely overthrow the virtues, at least it makes them all totter.