It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to follow a movement so wandering as that of our mind, to penetrate the opaque depths of its innermost folds, to pick out and immobilize the innumerable flutterings that agitate it.

If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles friendship rather than love.

How many valiant men we have seen to survive their own reputation!

There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.

All the fame you should look for in life is to have lived it quietly.

The finest lives in my opinion are the common model, without miracle and without extravagance.

I would have every man write what he knows and no more.