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

A wise man is not governed by others, nor does he try to govern them; he prefers that reason alone prevail.

They that have lived a single day have lived an age.

I take sanctuary in an honest mediocrity.

Every hour in itself, as it respects us in particular, is the only one we can call our own.

It is very rare to find ground which produces nothing; if it is not covered with flowers, with fruit trees and grains, it produces briers and pines. It is the same with man; if he is not virtuous, he becomes vicious.

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.