We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones. great
We give advice, but we cannot give the wisdom to profit by it. wisdom
There are few virtuous women who are not bored with their trade. women
There is nothing men are so generous of as advice. men
When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time. time
In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors. hope
We always love those who admire us, but we do not always love those whom we admire. love
Jealousy lives upon doubts. It becomes madness or ceases entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty. jealousy
If we resist our passions, it is more due to their weakness than our strength. strength
Our aversion to lying is commonly a secret ambition to make what we say considerable, and have every word received with a religious respect. respect
One forgives to the degree that one loves. forgiveness
We should often feel ashamed of our best actions if the world could see all the motives which produced them. best
Passion makes idiots of the cleverest men, and makes the biggest idiots clever. men
The defects of the mind, like those of the face, grow worse with age. age
Those that have had great passions esteem themselves for the rest of their lives fortunate and unfortunate in being cured of them. great
We are nearer loving those who hate us than those who love us more than we wish. love
We seldom find any person of good sense, except those who share our opinions. good
One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one. women
Too great haste to repay an obligation is a kind of ingratitude. great
As great minds have the faculty of saying a great deal in a few words, so lesser minds have a talent of talking much, and saying nothing. great
We have no patience with other people's vanity because it is offensive to our own. patience
Jealousy is bred in doubts. When those doubts change into certainties, then the passion either ceases or turns absolute madness. change & jealousy
It is a great act of cleverness to be able to conceal one's being clever. great
The happiness and misery of men depend no less on temper than fortune. happiness & men
It is not enough to have great qualities We should also have the management of them. great
If we have not peace within ourselves, it is in vain to seek it from outward sources. peace
Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. hope
What makes the pain we feel from shame and jealousy so cutting is that vanity can give us no assistance in bearing them. jealousy
A great many men's gratitude is nothing but a secret desire to hook in more valuable kindnesses hereafter. great & men
Being a blockhead is sometimes the best security against being cheated by a man of wit. best
Neither the sun nor death can be looked at with a steady eye. death
Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on. courage
What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one. great
It is with true love as it is with ghosts everyone talks about it, but few have seen it. love
On neither the sun, nor death, can a man look fixedly. death
Many men are contemptuous of riches few can give them away. men
Flattery is a kind of bad money, to which our vanity gives us currency. money
In friendship as well as love, ignorance very often contributes more to our happiness than knowledge. friendship, happiness, knowledge & love
We are all strong enough to bear other men's misfortunes. men
Only the contemptible fear contempt. fear
We may seem great in an employment below our worth, but we very often look little in one that is too big for us. great
Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love. jealousy & love
Men often pass from love to ambition, but they seldom come back again from ambition to love. love & men
However glorious an action in itself, it ought not to pass for great if it be not the effect of wisdom and intention. great & wisdom
True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen. love
No men are oftener wrong than those that can least bear to be so. men
There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand imitations. love
The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them. women
We come altogether fresh and raw into the several stages of life, and often find ourselves without experience, despite our years. experience
Great souls are not those who have fewer passions and more virtues than others, but only those who have greater designs. great
It is great folly to wish to be wise all alone. alone, great & wisdom
Few things are impracticable in themselves and it is for want of application, rather than of means, that men fail to succeed. men
Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires. great & love
Hope, deceiving as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route. hope
Philosophy finds it an easy matter to vanquish past and future evils, but the present are commonly too hard for it. future
We are so used to dissembling with others that in time we come to deceive and dissemble with ourselves. time
To know how to hide one's ability is great skill. great
You can find women who have never had an affair, but it is hard to find a woman who has had just one. women
Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others. great
As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing. great
However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship. friendship & love
Nothing is so contagious as example and we never do any great good or evil which does not produce its like. great
We may sooner be brought to love them that hate us, than them that love us more than we would have them do. love
Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example. good
One is never fortunate or as unfortunate as one imagines. imagination
There are but very few men clever enough to know all the mischief they do. men
We should often blush for our very best actions, if the world did but see all the motives upon which they were done. best
They that apply themselves to trifling matters commonly become incapable of great ones. great
There is no better proof of a man's being truly good than his desiring to be constantly under the observation of good men. men
Most people know no other way of judging men's worth but by the vogue they are in, or the fortunes they have met with. men
Taste may change, but inclination never. change
Old age is a tyrant, who forbids, under pain of death, the pleasures of youth. age & death
We pardon to the extent that we love. love
However greatly we distrust the sincerity of those we converse with, yet still we think they tell more truth to us than to anyone else. truth
There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not. love
Heat of blood makes young people change their inclinations often, and habit makes old ones keep to theirs a great while. change & great
If we are to judge of love by its consequences, it more nearly resembles hatred than friendship. friendship
It is with an old love as it is with old age a man lives to all the miseries, but is dead to all the pleasures. age & love
In the misfortunes of our best friends we always find something not altogether displeasing to us. best
It is from a weakness and smallness of mind that men are opinionated and we are very loath to believe what we are not able to comprehend. men
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them. truth
A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire. friendship
Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives them. good & wisdom
We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of others. strength
Women's virtue is frequently nothing but a regard to their own quiet and a tenderness for their reputation. women
There are a great many men valued in society who have nothing to recommend them but serviceable vices. great, men & society
Repentance is not so much remorse for what we have done as the fear of the consequences. fear
Men give away nothing so liberally as their advice. men
Old men are fond of giving good advice to console themselves for their inability to give bad examples. men
It is easier to know men in general, than men in particular. men