We easily forget our faults when no one knows them but ourselves.

The boldest stroke and best act of friendship is not to disclose our own failings to a friend, but to show him his own.

Our enemies' opinion of us comes closer to the truth than our own.

The duration of our passions is no more dependent on ourselves than the duration of our lives.

True friendship destroys envy, and true love destroys coquetterie.

Too great cleverness is but deceptive delicacy, true delicacy is the most substantial cleverness.

Gratitude is like credit; it is the backbone of our relations; frequently we pay our debts not because equity demands that we should, but to facilitate future loans.