At any age we must cherish illusions, consolatory or merely pleasant; in youth, they are omnipresent; in old age we must search for them, or even invent them. But with all that, boredom is their natural and inevitable accompaniment.

So much are our minds influenced by the accidents of our bodies, that every man is more the man of the day than a regular and consequential character.

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.

You must be respectful and assenting, but without being servile and abject. You must be frank, but without indiscretion, and close, without being costive. You must keep up dignity of character, without the least pride of birth, or rank. You must be gay, within all the bounds of decency and respect; and grave, without the affectation of wisdom, which does not become the age of twenty. You must be essentially secret, without being dark and mysterious. You must be firm, and even bold, but with great seeming modesty.

A man who cannot command his temper, his attention, and his countenance should not think of being a man of business.

You must look into people, as well as at them.

A cheerful, easy, open countenance will make fools think you a good-natured man, and make designing men think you an undesigning one.