One who is clever in only one way cannot be liked for long.
The truth is not so beneficent as its appearance is inauspicious.
There is no surer way to ignite another's passion than to keep your cool yourself.
There is nothing more foolish than the desire to always be smarter than everyone else.
Neither the sun nor death can be looked straight in the face.
You must have a high mind to know how to manifest your superiority of mind.
One of the reasons why intelligent and pleasant interlocutors are rare lies in the habit of most people to respond not to the judgments of others, but to their own thoughts.
The charm of newness in love is like the blossoming of fruit trees: it fades quickly and never returns.
He who knows how to hide his skill is really clever.
Vices are among virtues as antidotes are among cures.
Sometimes great talents crystallize from a sum of bad qualities.
Almost all people return small favors, the vast majority are grateful for slightly larger favors, but almost no one feels gratitude for really big ones.
Betrayal most often happens not from a premeditated intention, but from a weakness of character.
The contempt of the philosophers for wealth was born of an intimate desire to revenge himself on the unjust fate which would not have rewarded him as he deserved with the goods of life; this contempt, is a hidden way of escaping the indignities of wealth, and a by-road to the honor usually gained as a result of wealth.
Doing people harm is generally not as dangerous as doing them too much good.
It is somewhat easier to be wise about another than about yourself.
The joys and sorrows we experience do not depend on the size of events, but on our sensibility.
Our selfishness is of such a nature that no flatterer can surpass it.
The strong desire to appear learned prevents us from simply being so.
The fame of great men must always be valued by the same methods by which it was obtained.
Passions are the only orators whose arguments are always convincing.
Fate is considered blind especially by those to whom it does not give success.
The judgments of our enemies are, as far as we are concerned, nearer the truth than our own.
Only great men have great vices.
The one who is no longer loved is usually himself to blame for not noticing this in time.
He who thinks he can do without others is sorely mistaken; but whoever thinks that others can't do without him is even more wrong.
It's hard to define love; it can only be said that for the soul it is a thirst to dominate, for the mind it is like an inner kinship, and for the body it is a hidden and refined desire to possess, after many detours, what you love.
For many people, the love of justice is only the fear of being exposed to injustice.
Human qualities, like fruits, have their time.
Alas, we are given advice, but we are not given the mind to use it.