It is beyond a doubt that during the sixteenth century, and the years immediately preceding and following it, poisoning had been brought to a pitch of perfection which remains unknown to modern chemistry, but which is indisputably proved by history. Italy, the cradle of modern science, was at that time, the inventor and mistress of these secrets, many of which are lost.

The passion of love is essentially selfish, while motherhood widens the circle of our feelings.

In love, what a woman mistakes for disgust is actually clearsightedness. If she does not admire a man, she scorns him.

Manners are the hypocrisy of a nation.

Sects differ more in name than tenets.

On the moral plane, true friends enjoy the same protection as the sense of smell confers upon dogs. They scent the sorrow of their friends, they divine its causes, and they clasp it to their minds and hearts.

Woman is closer to angels than man because she knows how to mingle an infinite tenderness with the most absolute compassion.