Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Moderation resembles temperance. We are not so unwilling to eat more, as afraid of doing ourselves harm by it.
What is called generosity is usually only the vanity of giving; we enjoy the vanity more than the thing given.
In great affairs we ought to apply ourselves less to creating chances than to profiting from those that offer.
We should desire very few things passionately if we did but perfectly know the nature of the things we desire.
That good disposition which boasts of being most tender is often stifled by the least urging of self-interest.
We often brag that we are never bored with ourselves, and are so vain as never to think ourselves bad company.
However much we may distrust men's sincerity, we always believe they speak to us more sincerely than to others.
One can find women who have never had one love affair, but it is rare indeed to find any who have had only one.
Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires.
There is no praise we have not lavished upon prudence; and yet she cannot assure to us the most trifling event.
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.
How can we be answerable for what we shall want in the future, since we have no clear idea of what we want now?
Whatever ignominy or disgrace we have incurred, it is almost always in our power to reestablish our reputation.
However great the advantages given us by nature, it is not she alone, but fortune with her, which makes heroes.
No matter how brilliant an action, it should not be considered great unless it was the result of a great motive.
We may seem great in an employment below our worth, but we very often look little in one that is too big for us.
Nothing is more ridiculous in old people that were once good-looking, than to forget that they are not so still.
Imagination does not enable us to invent as many different contradictions as there are by nature in every heart.
We acknowledge our faults in order to repair by our sincerity the damage they have done us in the eyes of others.
Old people are fond of giving good advice; it consoles them for no longer being capable of setting a bad example.
The ambitious deceive themselves in proposing an end to their ambition; that end, when attained, becomes a means.
We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves.
High fortune makes both our virtues and vices stand out as objects that are brought clearly to view by the light.
Imagination could never invent the number of different contradictions that exist innately in each person's heart.
Love, all agreeable as it is, charms more by the fashion in which it displays itself, than by its own true merit.
The extreme delight we experience in talking about ourselves should warn us that those who listen do not share it.
There are some persons who only disgust with their abilities, there are persons who please even with their faults.
Sometimes accidents happen in life from which we have need of a little madness to extricate ourselves successfully
Absence cools moderate passions, and inflames violent ones; just as the wind blows out candles, but kindles fires.
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
A clever man reaps some benefit from the worst catastrophe, and a fool can turn even good luck to his disadvantage.
Never give anyone the advice to buy or sell shares, because the most benevolent price of advice can turn out badly.
The old begin to complain of the conduct of the young when they themselves are no longer able to set a bad example.
Philosophy finds it an easy matter to vanquish past and future evils, but the present are commonly too hard for it.
In the human heart one generation of passions follows another; from the ashes of one springs the spark of the next.
We should often blush for our very best actions, if the world did but see all the motives upon which they were done.
It is as commendable to think well of oneself when alone, as it is ridiculous to speak well of oneself among others.
It is more difficult for a man to be faithful to his mistress when he is favored than when he is ill treated by her.
The applause we give those who are new to society often proceeds from a secret envying of those already established.
Some disguised deceits counterfeit truth so perfectly that not to be taken in by them would be an error of judgment.
Few things are needed to make a wise man happy; nothing can make a fool content; that is why most men are miserable.
The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Though confidence is very fine, and makes the future sunny; I want no confidence for mine, I'd rather have the money
A certain harmony should be kept between actions and ideas if we want to fully develop the effects they can produce.
We often boast that we are never bored; but yet we are so conceited that we do not perceive how often we bore others.
Strength and weakness of mind are misnomers; they are really nothing but the good or bad health of our bodily organs.
However glorious an action in itself, it ought not to pass for great if it be not the effect of wisdom and intention.
Sometimes, occasions occur in life which demand you to be a little foolish in order to skillfully extricate yourself.
In the human heart new passions are forever being born; the overthrow of one almost always means the rise of another.
Some beautiful things are more dazzling when they are still imperfect than when they have been too perfectly crafted.