In your friendships and in your enmities let your confidence and your hostilities have certain bounds; make not the former dangerous, nor the latter irreconcilable. There are strange vicissitudes in business.

Good manners are the settled medium of social, as specie is of commercial, life; returns are equally expected for both.

Women are all so far Machiavellians that they are never either good or bad by halves; their passions are too strong, and their reason too weak, to do anything with moderation.

Men are much more unwilling to have their weaknesses and their imperfections known than their crimes.

Endeavor, as much as you can, to keep company with people above you.... Do not mistake, when I say company above you, and think that I mean with regard to their birth; that is the least consideration; but I mean with regard to their merit, and the light in which the world considers them.

The heart never grows better by age; I fear rather worse; always harder.

A gentleman is often seen, but very seldom heard to laugh.