A pious man is one who would be an atheist if the king were.
Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other’s little failings.
The nearer we come to great men the more clearly we see that they are only men. They rarely seem great to their valets.
The most exquisite pleasure is giving pleasure to others.
The most exquisite pleasure is giving pleasure to others.
Liberality consists less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.
Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.
As long as men are liable to die and are desirous to live a physician will be made fun of but he will be well paid.
Those who make the worst use of their time most complain of its brevity.
A man must have very eminent qualities to hold his own without being polite.
There are certain people who so ardently and passionately desire a thing that from dread of losing it they leave nothing undone to make them lose it.
We must laugh before we are happy for fear of dying without having laughed at all.
It is a great misfortune neither to have enough wit to talk well nor enough judgement to be silent.
It is a great misfortune neither to have enough wit to talk well nor enough judgment to be silent.
There is no business in the world so troublesome as the pursuit of fame: life is over before you have hardly begun your work.
There are but two ways of rising in the world: either by one’s own industry or profiting by the foolishness of others.
Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present which seldom happens to us.
A man often runs the risk of throwing away a witticism if he admits that it is his own.
There are no ugly women there are only women who do not know how to look pretty.
The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love.
At the beginning and at the end of love, the two lovers are embarrassed to find themselves alone.
When a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any other standard to judge by: the work is good, the product of a master craftsman.
There is no road too long to the man who advances deliberately and without undue haste there are no honors too distant to the man who prepares himself for them with patience.
There are only three events in a man’s life; birth, life, and death; he is not conscious of being born, he dies in pain, and he forgets to live.
The passion of hatred is so long lived and so obstinate a malady that the surest sign of death in a sick person is their desire for reconciliation.
There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.
We should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while they are alive is dangerous, and when they are dead is cowardly.
A position of eminence makes a great person greater and a small person less.
Avoid lawsuits beyond all things; they pervert your conscience, impair your health, and dissipate your property.
Marriage, it seems, confines every man to his proper rank.
The first day one is a guest, the second a burden, and the third a pest.
It is a sad thing when men have neither the wit to speak well nor the judgment to hold their tongues.
The regeneration of society is the regeneration of society by individual education.
It is boorish to live ungraciously: the giving is the hardest part what does it cost to add a smile?
Men blush less for their crimes than for their weaknesses and vanity.
All of our unhappiness comes from our inability to be alone.
All men’s misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone.
The wise person often shuns society for fear of being bored.
Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present, which seldom happens to us.