The man who does something under orders is not unhappy; he is unhappy who does something against his will.

A large part of mankind is angry not with the sins, but with the sinners.

Those alone are wise who know how to love.

The law of the pleasure in having done anything for another is, that the one almost immediately forgets having given, and the other remembers eternally having received.

Do the best you can . . . enjoy the present . . . rest satisfied with what you have.

As Lucretius says: 'Thus ever from himself doth each man flee.' But what does he gain if he does not escape from himself? He ever follows himself and weighs upon himself as his own most burdensome companion. And so we ought to understand that what we struggle with is the fault, not of the places, but of ourselves

We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.