No man deserves to be praised for his goodness, who has it not in his power to be wicked. Goodness without that power is generally nothing more than sloth, or an impotence of will.

Fortune converts everything to the advantage of her favorites.

Simplicity is a delicate imposition.

The vices enter into the composition of the virtues, as poisons into that of medicines. Prudence collects and arranges them, and uses them beneficially against the ills of life.

Nothing is rarer than real goodness.

Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.

Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.