Men sometimes feel injured by praise because it assigns a limit to their merit; few people are modest enough not to take offense that one appreciates them.
Few maxims are true in every respect.
Men despise great projects when they do not feel themselves capable of great successes.
The counsels of old age give light without heat, like the sun in winter.
We are forced to respect the gifts of nature, which study and fortune cannot give.
The art of pleasing is the art of deception.