No one ever approaches perfection except by stealth, and unknown to themselves.

A woman's vanity is interested in making the object of her choice the god of her idolatry.

It is a false principle that because we are entirely occupied with ourselves, we must equally occupy the thoughts of others. The contrary inference is the fair one.

People do not seem to talk for the sake of expressing their opinions, but to maintain an opinion for the sake of talking.

Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust; hatred alone is immortal.

We learn to curb our will and keep our overt actions within the bounds of humanity, long before we can subdue our sentiments and imaginations to the same mild tone.

I have a much greater ambition to be the best racket player than the best prose writer.