The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.

Desert being the essential condition of praise, there can be no reality in the one without the other.

It is a hard matter for a man to lie all over, nature having provided king's evidence in almost every member. The hand will sometimes act as a vane, to show which way the wind blows, even when every feature is set the other way; the knees smite together and sound the alarm of fear under a fierce countenance; the legs shake with anger when all above us calm.

No man knows himself as an original.

Never judge a work of art by its defects.

Never expect justice from a vain man; if he has the negative magnanimity not to disparage you, it is the most you can expect.

Fame has no necessary conjunction with praise; it may exist without the breath of a word: it is a recognition of excellence which must be felt, but need not be spoken. Even the envious must feel it: feel it, and hate in silence.