Men of simple understanding, little inquisitive and little instructed, make good Christians.

Arts and sciences are not cast in a mould, but are found and perfected by degrees, by often handling and polishing.

There is no passion so contagious as that of fear.

Nothing prints more lively in our minds than something we wish to forget.

We feel a kind of bittersweet pricking of malicious delight in contemplating the misfortunes of others.

The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them... Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will.

There is nothing which so poisons princes as flattery, nor anything whereby wicked men more easily obtain credit and favor with them.