We are not hypocrites in our sleep.

There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.

Men are in numberless instances qualified for certain things, for no other reason than because they are qualified for nothing else.

Common sense, to most people, is nothing more than their own opinions.

The only true retirement is that of the heart; the only true leisure is the repose of the passions. To such persons it makes little difference whether they are young or old; and they die as they have lived, with graceful resignation.

A life of action and danger moderates the dread of death.

We are very much what others think of us. The reception our observations meet with gives us courage to proceed, or damps our efforts.