I never did a single wise thing in the whole course of my existence, although I have written many which have been thought so.

A man's vanity tells him what is honor, a man's conscience what is justice.

As the pearl ripens in the obscurity of its shell, so ripens in the tomb all the fame that is truly precious.

What is reading but silent conversation?

We cannot conquer fate and necessity, yet we can yield to them in such a manner as to be greater than if we could.

We oftener say things because we can say them well, than because they are sound and reasonable.

Cats ask plainly for what they want.