Those who make us happy are always thankful to us for being so; their gratitude is the reward of their benefits.

There are questions so indiscreet, that they deserve neither truth nor falsehood in reply.

He who has never denied himself for the sake of giving has but glanced at the joys of charity.

If grief is to be mitigated, it must either wear itself out or be shared.

Love enters the heart unawares: takes precedence of all the emotions--or, at least, will be second to none--and even reflection becomes its accomplice. While it lives, it renders blind; and when it has struck its roots deep only itself can shake them. It reminds one of hospitality as practiced among the ancients. The stranger was received upon the threshold of the half-open door, and introduced into the sanctuary reserved for the Penates. Not until every attention had been lavished upon him did the host ask his name; and the question was sometimes deferred till the very moment of departure.

The chains which cramp us most are those which weigh on us least.

We are all of us, in this world, more or less like St. January, whom the inhabitants of Naples worship one day, and pelt with baked apples the next.