Gratitude is a lively sense of benefits to come.

If we are incapable of finding peace in ourselves, it is pointless to search elsewhere.

Whatever distrust we may have of the sincerity of those who converse with us, we always believe they will tell us more truth than they do to others.

The evil that we do does not attract to us so much persecution and hatred as our good qualities.

It is necessary, in order to know things well, to know the particulars of them; and these, being infinite, make our knowledge eversuperficial and imperfect.

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

A clever man reaps some benefit from the worst catastrophe, and a fool can turn even good luck to his disadvantage.