He who expects from a great name in politics, in philosophy, in art, equal greatness in other things, is little versed in human nature. Our strength lies in our weakness. The learned in books are ignorant of the world. He who is ignorant of books is often well acquainted with other things; for life is of the same length in the learned and unlearned; the mind cannot be idle; if it is not taken up with one thing, it attends to another through choice or necessity; and the degree of previous capacity in one class or another is a mere lottery.

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

The ignorance of the world leaves one at the mercy of its malice.

I am then never less alone than when alone

The fear of approaching death, which in youth we imagine must cause inquietude to the aged, is very seldom the source of much uneasiness.

Some one is generally sure to be the sufferer by a joke.

Horus non numero nisi serenas (I count only the sunny hours).