We must accustom ourselves to the follies of others and not be astonished at the foolishness that takes place in our presence.

The foolish acts of others ought to serve more as a lesson to us than an occasion to laugh at those who commit them.

We often value the exterior and superficial aspect of things more than their inner reality. Bad manners taint everything even justice and reason. The 'how' of things matters most, and even the most disagreeable matters can be sweetened and gilded over with the proper appearance. Such is the bias and the weakness of the human mind.

It is an admirable skill to able to sweeten a refusal with civil words which atone for the favor which we are not able to grant.

There is no more reason to accuse ourselves excessively of our failings than to excuse them overmuch. He who goes overboard in self-criticism often does so in order not to suffer others' criticisms, or else does so out of a kind of vanity that wishes to make others believe that he knows how to confess his faults.

There is a certain manner of self-absorption in speaking that always renders the speaker disagreeable. For it is as great a folly to listen only to ourselves while we are carrying on a conversation with others as it is to talk to ourselves while we are alone.

It is a singular characteristic of love that we cannot hide it where it exists, or pretend it where it does not exist.