Great genial power, one would almost say, consists in not being original at all; in being altogether receptive; in letting the world do all, and suffering the spirit of the hour to pass unobstructed through the mind.

That which we call character is a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means. It is conceived of as a certain undemonstrable force, a familiar or genius, by whose impulses the man is guided, but whose counsels he cannot impart.

Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins

Prudence is the virtue of the senses. It is the science of appearances. It is the outmost action of the inward life.

Difference of opinion is the one crime which kings never forgive.

The charm of the best courages is that they are inventions, inspirations, flashes of genius.

One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive one.