Whatever affection we have for our friends or relations, the happiness of others never suffices for our own.

Sometimes a lengthened period of prosperity melts away in a moment; just as the heat of summer flies before a day of tempest.

Despair exaggerates not only our misery but also our weakness.

Great men, like nature, use simple language.

Few people are modest enough to be estimated at their true worth.

Hope deceives more men than cunning does.

It is good to be firm by temperament and pliant by reflection.