In France, a woman may forget that she is neither young nor handsome; for the absence of these claims to attention does not expose her to be neglected by the male sex.

... I never will allow myself to form an ideal of any person I desire to see, for disappointment never fails to ensue.

Wit lives in the present, but genius survives the future.

Flattery, if judiciously administered, is always acceptable.

The vices of the rich and great are mistaken for error; and those of the poor and lowly, for crimes.

Our weaknesses are the indigenous produce of our characters; but our strength is the forced fruit.

A profound knowledge of life is the least enviable of all species of knowledge, because it can only be acquired by trials that make us regret the loss of our ignorance.