It takes strong ears indeed to hear ourselves judged frankly, and because there are few who can endure criticism without being stung by it, those who venture to criticize us perform a remarkable act of friendship. For it is a healthy love that will risk wounding or offending in order to profer a benefit.

The beauty of stature is the only beauty of men.

Truth and reason are common to everyone, and are no more his who spake them first than his who speaks them after.

The confidence in another man's virtue is no light evidence of a man's own, and God willingly favors such a confidence.

It is much more easy to accuse the one sex than to excuse the other.

We must reserve a back shop all our own entirely free, in which to establish our real liberty and our principal retreat and solitude.

The share we have in the knowledge of truth, such as it is, has not been acquired by our own powers. God has taught ushis wonderful secrets; our faith is not of our acquiring, it is purely the gift of another's bounty.