Politeness does not always inspire goodness, equity, complaisance, and gratitude; it gives at least the appearance of these qualities, and makes man appear outwardly, as he should be within.

A well-born man is fortunate, but so is the man about whom people no longer ask, 'is he well-born?'

A pious man is one who would be an atheist if the king were.

The mind, like all other things, will become impaired, the sciences are its food,--they nourish, but at the same time they consume it.

Profane eloquence is transfered from the bar, where Le Maitre, Pucelle, and Fourcroy formerly practised it, and where it has become obsolete, to the Pulpit, where it is out of place.

Favor exalts a man above his equals, but his dismissal from that favor places him below them.

When a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any other standard to judge by: the work is good, the product of a master craftsman.