The most solid pleasure in this life is the empty pleasure of illusion.

The thought that really crushes us is the thought of the futility of life of which death is the visible manifestation.

Man is doomed either squander his youth, which is the only time he has to store provisions for the coming years and provide for his own well-being, or to spend his youth procuring pleasures in advance for that time of life when he will be too old to enjoy them.

A dictionary can embrace only a small part of the vast tapestry of a language.

I find it awfully difficult to determine if the habit of talking about oneself at length runs contrary to the basic rules of propriety, or if instead the man exempt from this vice is rare.

It's interesting to observe that almost all truly worthy men have simple manners, and that simple manners are almost always taken as a sign of little worth

Irresolute men are sometimes very persistent in their undertakings, because if they give up their designs they would have to make a second resolution.