A great mind will neither give an affront nor bear it.

Such is the power of imagination, that even a chimerical pleasure in expectation affects us more than a solid pleasure in possession.

An infallible way to make your child miserable is to satisfy all his demands. Passion swells by gratification; and the impossibility of satisfying every one of his demands will oblige you to stop short at last, after he has become a little headstrong.

Luxury possibly may contribute to give bread to the poor; but if there were no luxury, there would be no poor.

False praise is always confined to the great.

Even dress is apt to inflame a man's opinion of himself.

Nothing so uncertain as general reputation. A man injures me from humor, passion, or interest; hates me because he has injured me; and speaks ill of me because he hates me.