A coxcomb is one whom simpletons believe to be a man of merit.

The nearer we come to great men the more clearly we see that they are only men. They rarely seem great to their valets.

I do not doubt but that genuine piety is the spring of peace of mind; it enables us to bear the sorrows of life, and lessens the pangs of death: the same cannot be said of hypocrisy.

Man makes up his mind he will preach, and he preaches.

The same common sense which makes an author write good things, makes him dread they are not good enough to deserve reading.

Love and friendship exclude each other.

Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author.