Fortune does us neither good nor hurt; she only presents us the matter, and the seed, which our soul, more powerfully than she, turns and applies as she best pleases; being the sole cause and sovereign mistress of her own happy or unhappy condition.

If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than it was because he was he, and I was I.

The finest souls are those that have the most variety and suppleness.

The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere.

Wine is the benevolent god, who gives back gaiety to men and restores youth to the old.

Judgement can do without knowledge: but not knowledge without judgement.

A straight oar looks bent in the water. It matters not merely that we see a thing, but how we see it.