There is a certain jargon, which, in French, I should call un Persiflage d'Affaires, that a foreign Minister ought to be perfectlymaster of, and may be used very advantageously at great entertainments, in mixed companies, and in all occasions where he must speak, and should say nothing. Well turned and well spoken, it seems to mean something, though in truth it means nothing. It is a kind of political badinage, which prevents or removes a thousand difficulties, to which a foreign Minister is exposed in mixed conversations.

Whoever plays deep must necessarily lose his money or his character.

Fear invites danger; concealed cowards insult known ones.

A certain degree of fear produces the same effects as rashness.

Sincerity is the most compendious wisdom.

Most people enjoy the inferiority of their best friends.

Few men are of one plain, decided color; most are mixed, shaded, and blended; and vary as much, from different situations, as changeable silks do from different lights.