It is often laziness and timidity that keep us within our duty while virtue gets all the credit.

There are persons whose only merit consists in saying and doing stupid things at the right time, and who ruin all if they change their manners.

What makes lovers never tire of one another is that they talk always about themselves.

Humility is the sure evidence of Christian virtues. Without it, we retain all our faults still, and they are only covered over with pride, which hides them from other men's observation, and sometimes from our own too.

Tastes in young people are changed by natural impetuosity, and in the aged are preserved by habit.

Love of fame, fear of disgrace, schemes for advancement, desire to make life comfortable and pleasant, and the urge to humiliate others are often at the root of the valour men hold in such high esteem.

It is often laziness and timidity that keep us within our duty while virtue gets all the credit.