All art is an imitation of nature.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.

It is the sign of a great mind to dislike greatness, and prefer things in measure to things in excess.

That moderation which nature prescribes, which limits our desires by resources restricted to our needs, has abandoned the field; it has now come to this -- that to want only what is enough is a sign both of boorishness and of utter destitution.

Conversation has a kind of charm about it, an insinuating and insidious something that elicits secrets just like love or liquor.

There is nothing in the world so much admired as a man who knows how to bear unhappiness with courage.

The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man. It is more powerful than external circumstances.

We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.

Where the fear is, happiness is not.

A person's fears are lighter when the danger is at hand.