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That man who has never been in danger cannot answer for his courage. (1665, No. 236.)
Truth is foundation and the reason of the perfection of beauty, for of whatever stature a thing may be, it cannot be beautiful and perfect unless it be truly that she should be, and possess truly all that she should have
[Beauty is truth, truth beauty.{—John
Magnanimity is a noble effort of pride which makes a man master of himself, to make him master of all things. (1665, No. 271.)
Women for the most part surrender themselves more from weakness than from passion. Whence it is that bold and pushing men succeed better than others, although they are not so loveable. (1665,
The most just comparison of love is that of a fever, and we have no power over either, as to its violence or its duration. (1665, No. 305.)
Hope and fear are inseparable.
The power which women whom we love have over us is greater than that which we have over ourselves. (To The
Humility is the altar upon which God wishes that we should offer him his sacrifices.
We trouble ourselves less to become happy, than to make others believe we are so.
Wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body.
The wise man finds it better not to enter the encounter than to conquer.
It is more necessary to study men than books. ["The proper study of mankind is man."—Pope {Essay On Man, (1733),
With those friends whose truth we know we have the closest intimacy. They have always spoken unreservedly to us, we should always do the same to them.
We should discover a means to hide this love of selection since it is too ingrained in us to be in our power to destroy.
Above all things we should avoid often talking of ourselves and giving ourselves as an example; nothing is more tiresome than a man who quotes himself for everything.
Those who lay down rules too often break them, and the safest we are able to give is to listen much, to speak little, and to say nothing that will ever give ground for regret.
All men want to be different, and to be greater than they are; they seek for an air other than their own, and a mind different from what they possess; they take their style and manner at chance. They make experiments upon themselves without considering that what suits one person will not suit everyone, that there is no universal rule for taste or manners, and that there are no good copies.
Arts and sciences may be proper for the greater part of those who are capable for them. Good manners and politeness are proper for all the world.
