My friend is the one I can be honest with. In his presence, I can think out loud.
The chief reward for virtue is virtue itself; the only way to have a friend is to be one yourself.
If the stars appeared in the sky only once in a thousand years, how would people believe and worship!
If the child has suddenly become obedient, the mother is very scared: isn't she dying?
If you write a better book than your neighbor, or preach a bad sermon, or make a better mousetrap, people will keep coming to your house, even if you live in a thick forest.
If you want to be loved, learn moderation.
If man seeks beauty not because faith and love demand it, but for the sake of pleasure, he degrades himself as a man.
There are people who are too good to spoil by praising them.
Those who live for tomorrow seem selfish in the eyes of those who live only for today.
Life is eternity in miniature.
Life is not so short that we have no time for politeness.
Life is made up of what man thinks throughout the day.
Living for others is easy; this is how everyone lives.
Knowledge exists to be spread.
Inventions beget other inventions.
Art is a jealous mistress.
The true sign of civilization is not the level of wealth and education, it is the size of the cities, it is not the abundance of the harvest, but the face of the man educated by his country.
History is a pamphlet against all parties.
Every book is a quote; every house is a quotation from all the woods, mines, and quarries; and every man is a quote from all his ancestors.
Every book burned lights up the world.
Any evil to which we do not succumb is a blessing.
Any character eventually becomes boring.
Every saint is skeptical at least once a day.
Every person is for someone a hero and an oracle.
A painting should not be too pictorial.
When the eyes say one thing and the tongue another, an experienced man trusts the former more.
When Nature wants to create something, she gives birth to a genius.
When you're sliding on thin ice, it's all about speed.
Culture and outward elegance are completely different things.
Smoking allows us to think we are doing something when we are doing nothing.