There is no remedy but love for the great superiority of others

How can we learn self-knowledge? Never by taking thought but rather by action. Try to do your duty and you'll soon discover what you're like.

So dear night the half of life is, And the fairest half indeed.

A vain man can never be altogether rude. Desirous as he is of pleasing, he fashions his manners after those of others.

Talent is nurtured in solitude; character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.

Fortunately, we can take in only so much misfortune; what exceeds that limit either destroys us or leaves us indifferent.

Man... knows only when he is satisfied and when he suffers, and only his sufferings and his satisfactions instruct him concerning himself, teach him what to seek and what to avoid. For the rest, man is a confused creature; he knows not whence he comes or whither he goes, he knows little of the world, and above all, he knows little of himself.