intellect is a sin that must be atoned for by leading exactly the life of those who have none.

When women oppose themselves to the projects and ambition of men, they excite their lively resentment; if in their youth they meddle with political intrigues, their modesty must suffer.

In women's destiny everything goes downhill except for thought, whose immortal nature it is to keep constantly rising.

Men err from selfishness; women because they are weak.

Sow good services: sweet remembrances will grow from them.

Conversation as talent exists only in France. In other countries, conversation provides politeness, discussion, and friendship; in France, it is an art for which imagination and soul are certainly very welcome, but which can also provide its own secret remedies to compensate you for the absence of either or both, if you so desire.

... in the history of the human mind there has never been a useful thought or a profound truth that has not found its century and admirers.