The first lessons with which we should irrigate his mind should be those which teach him to know himself, and to know how to die ... and to live.

Life itself is neither a good nor an evil: life is where good or evil find a place, depending on how you make it for them.

The human face is a weak guarantee; yet it deserves some consideration. And if I had to whip the wicked, I would do so more severely to those who belied and betrayed the promises that nature had implanted on their brows; I would punish malice more harshly when it was hidden under a kindly appearance.

The good opinion of the vulgar is injurious.

It has never occurred to me to wish for empire or royalty, nor for the eminence of those high and commanding fortunes. My aim lies not in that direction; I love myself too well.

Human understanding is marvellously enlightened by daily conversation with men, for we are, otherwise, compressed and heaped up in ourselves, and have our sight limited to the length of our own noses.

I must use these great men's virtues as a cloak for my weakness.