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

A man who is free and unmarried, if he has some intelligence, can rise above his fortune, mingle in society and meet the best people on an equal footing. This is harder for a married man: marriage, it seems, confines every man to his proper rank.

We should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while they are alive is dangerous, and when they are dead is cowardly.

Every man is valued in this world as he shows by his conduct that he wishes to be valued.

If a handsome woman allows that another woman is beautiful, we may safely conclude she excels her.

That man is good who does good to others; if he suffers on account of the good he does, he is very good; if he suffers at the hands of those to whom he has done good, then his goodness is so great that it could be enhanced only by greater sufferings; and if he should die at their hands, his virtue can go no further: it is heroic, it is perfect.

A heap of epithets is poor praise: the praise lies in the facts, and in the way of telling them.