Very ugly or very beautiful women should be flattered on their understanding, and mediocre ones on their beauty.

If ever a man and his wife, or a man and his mistress, who pass nights as well as days together, absolutely lay aside all good breeding, their intimacy will soon degenerate into a coarse familiarity, infallibly productive of contempt or disgust.

Always make the best of the best, and never make bad worse.

Good breeding and good nature do incline us rather to help and raise people up to ourselves, than to mortify and depress them, and, in truth, our own private interest concurs in it, as it is making ourselves so many friends, instead of so many enemies.

A rake is a composition of all the lowest, most ignoble, degrading, and shameful vices; they all conspire to disgrace his character, and to ruin his fortune; while wine and the pox content which shall soonest and most effectually destroy his constitution.

When you have found out the prevailing passion of any man, remember never to trust him where that passion is concerned.

Elegance of manner is the outgrowth of refined and exalted sense.