Say nothing good of yourself, you will be distrusted; say nothing bad of yourself, you will be taken at your word.

Like those statues which must be made larger than "nature" in order that, viewed from below, or from a distance, they may appear to be of the "natural" size, certain truths must be "strained" in order that the public may form a just idea of them.

Say nothing good of yourself, you will be distrusted; say nothing bad of yourself, you will be taken at your word.

The chief cause of our misery is less the violence of our passions than the feebleness of our virtues.

History, if thoroughly comprehended, furnishes something of the experience which a man would acquire who should be a contemporary of all ages and a fellow citizen of all peoples.

We distrust our heart too much, and our head not enough.

Present unhappiness is selfish; past sorrow is compassionate.