Foolish jokers are thick on the ground, and it rains insects of that sort everywhere. A good joker is a rarity; even a man who is such by nature finds it hard to sustain the part for long; it seldom happens that the man who makes us laugh wins our esteem.

We seldom repent talking little, but very often talking too much.

There are some who speak one moment before they think

The Opera is obviously the first draft of a fine spectacle; it suggests the idea of one.

A modest man never talks of himself.

The wise person often shuns society for fear of being bored.

Great things astonish us, and small dishearten us. Custom makes both familiar.