The majority of the books of our time give one the impression of having been manufactured in a day out of books read the day before.

Stupidity would not be absolute stupidity did it not fear intelligence.

Many men and women enjoy popular esteem, not because they are known, but because they are not known.

He who disguises tyranny, protection, or even benefits under the air and name of friendship reminds me of the guilty priest who poisoned the sacramental bread.

Most of those who make collections of verse or epigram are like men eating cherries or oysters: they choose out the best at first, and end by eating all.

A fool who has a flash of wit creates astonishment and scandal, like hack-horses setting out to gallop.

Love is more pleasant than marriage for the same reason that novels are more amusing than history.