A man is not necessarily intelligent because he has plenty of ideas, any more than he is a good general because he has plenty of soldiers.

Wrinkles and ill-nature together made a woman hideous.

All passions are exaggerated, otherwise they would not be passions.

It is commonly supposed that the art of pleasing is a wonderful aid in the pursuit of fortune; but the art of being bored is infinitely more successful.

Philosophy, like medicine, has plenty of drugs, few good remedies, and hardly any specific cures.

Nearly all men are slaves for the same reason that the Spartans assigned for the servitude of the Persians -- lack of power to pronounce the syllable, "No." To be able to utter that word and live alone, are the only means to preserve one's freedom and one's character.

There is a melancholy that stems from greatness