How many wells of science there are in whose depths there is nothing but clear water!

We forget the origin of a parvenu if he remembers it; we remember it if he forgets it.

Envy, like flame, blackens that which is above it, and which it cannot reach.

It is almost impossible to find those who admire us entirely lacking in taste.

The wonderful fortune of some writers deludes and leads to misery a great number of young people.

Some delicate matters must be treated like pins, because if they are not seized by the right end, we get pricked.

There are philanthropists who, incapable of managing their own little affairs, take upon themselves those of the whole world; but as their creditors always outnumber their disciples, they owe humanity more than she will ever owe them.