There is merit without rank, but there is no rank without some merit.

We do not wish ardently for what we desire only through reason.

We sometimes imagine we hate flattery, but we only hate the way we are flattered.

Whatever discoveries we may have made in the regions of self-love, there still remain many unknown lands.

Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love.

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.

Praise is a more ingenious, concealed, and subtle kind of flattery, that satisfies both the giver and the receiver, though by verydifferent ways. The one accepts it as a reward due to his merit; the other gives it that he may be looked upon as a just and discerning person.