It is a very rare thing for a man of talent to succeed by his talent.

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

We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan; and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence.

The vital air of friendship is composed of confidence. Friendship perishes in proportion as this air diminishes.

The orator is the mouth (os) of a nation.

God is a shower to the heart burned up with grief; God is a sun to the face deluged with tears.

In youth one has tears without grief; in age, griefs without tears