The desire to inspire pity or admiration - this is what often underlies our sincerity.
Refinement of mind is shown in the ability to flatter with elegance.
Some people are like songs: they go out of style very quickly.
True eloquence is the science of saying all that is necessary and no more than is necessary.
Towards old age, the shortcomings of the mind become more and more visible, as do the shortcomings of the appearance.
No matter how perceptive one may be, one cannot perceive the evil one is doing.
No matter how much people boast about the importance of their achievements, the latter are often not the result of extraordinary plans, but of pure chance.
How can we ask someone to keep our secret if we are unable to keep it ourselves?
No matter how hard we cover ourselves with shame, we almost always have the opportunity to restore our good name.
When remarkable men finally bend under the burden of long-endured troubles, they thereby show that before they were supported not so much by the force of spirit as by the force of ambition, and that heroes differ from ordinary men only by a great vanity.
Kings deal with men as they do with money: they set their price as they think fit, and all must accept these men according to the value of the exchange, and not according to their true value.
The dashing of all one's hopes pleases both friends and foes.
He who is too diligent in small things often becomes incapable of great things.
Love is one, but it has thousands of children.
People often do good only to gain the opportunity to do evil with impunity.
People could not live in society if they did not deceive each other
People are rarely satisfied with those who act on their behalf during business negotiations, because intermediaries, striving to make a good name for themselves, almost always sacrifice the interests of their friends for the sake of the success of the negotiations themselves.
Quarrels between people would not last so long if all the blame was on one side.
The compassion of the powerful of this world is most often just a cunning policy, the purpose of which is to win the love of the people.
The world is ruled by fate and whims.
Wisdom is necessary for the soul just as health is necessary for the body.
We all have enough strength to endure another's unhappiness.
We easily forget our mistakes when they are known only to ourselves.
We love the act of giving more than the one we give to.
We cannot love a second time those whom we once really stopped loving.
We rarely fully understand what we really want.
We would rather sacrifice our wealth than give up our opinion.
At each man, as at each deed, we must look at it from a certain distance. Some you can understand by looking closely at others only from a distance.
It is easier for us to lead people than to prevent them from leading us.
It is not kindness but pride that often makes us read the teachings of men who have made mistakes; we reproach them not so much to correct them as to convince ourselves of our own infallibility.