To amend mankind, moralists should show them man, not as he is, but as he ought to be.

The difference between weakness and wickedness is much less than people suppose; and the consequences are nearly always the same.

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

We are more prone to murmur at the punishment of our faults than to lament them.

Friends are the thermometer by which we may judge the temperature of our fortunes.

Those who are formed to win general admiration are seldom calculated to bestow individual happiness.

Here Fashion is a despot, and no one dreams of evading its dictates.