A vain man finds it wise to speak good or ill of himself; a modest man does not talk of himself.

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

Avoid making yourself the subject of conversation.

A man unattached and without wife, if he have any genius at all, may raise himself above his original position, may mingle with the world of fashion, and hold himself on a level with the highest; this is less easy for him who is engaged; it seems as if marriage put the whole world in their proper rank.

We hope to grow old and we dread old age; that is to say, we love life and we flee from death.

It requires more than mere genius to be an author.

A position of eminence makes a great person greater and a small person less.