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

Remember, that when I speak of pleasures I always mean the elegant pleasures of a rational being, and not the brutal ones of a swine. I mean la bonne chère, short of gluttony; wine, infinitely short of drunkenness; play, without the least gaming; and gallantry, without debauchery.

Most people enjoy the inferiority of their best friends.

Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster: and even polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.

Pleasure is a necessary reciprocal. No one feels, who does not at the same time give it. To be pleased, one must please. What pleases you in others, will in general please them in you.

Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best.

The more one works, the more willing one is to work.