In affability there is no hatred of men, but for that very reason there is all too much contempt for men.

Some people appear to be more meager in talent than they are, just because the tasks they set themselves are always too great.

Writers ought to be regarded as wrongdoers who deserve to be acquitted or pardoned only in the rarest cases: that would be a way to keep books from getting out of hand.

In our interactions with people, a benevolent hypocrisy is frequently required--acting as though we do not see through the motivesof their actions.

The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.

Everything about woman is a riddle, and everything about woman has a single solution: that is, pregnancy

One does not want to be deceived, under the supposition that it is injurious, dangerous, or fatal to be deceived.