Talent, like beauty, to be pardoned, must be obscure and unostentatious.

Reason dissipates the illusions of life, but does not console us for their departure.

You were wise not to waste years in a lawsuit ... he who commences a suit resembles him who plants a palm-tree which he will not live to see flourish.

Many minds that have withstood the most severe trials have been broken down by a succession of ignoble cares.

Borrowed thoughts, like borrowed money, only show the poverty of the borrower.

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

Love in France is a comedy; in England a tragedy; in Italy an opera seria; and in Germany a melodrama.