The secret of being a bore... is to tell everything.
Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.
Weakness on both sides is, as we know, the motto of all quarrels.
Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent.
Our country is that spot to which our heart is bound.
It is vain for the coward to flee; death follows close behind; it is only by defying it that the brave escape.
What a heavy burden is a name that has become too famous.
Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.
The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice.
Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.
In the case of news, we should always wait for the sacrament of confirmation.
Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
Clever tyrants are never punished.
The little may contrast with the great, in painting, but cannot be said to be contrary to it. Oppositions of colors contrast; but there are also colors contrary to each other, that is, which produce an ill effect because they shock the eye when brought very near it.
Common sense is not so common.
The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.
This self-love is the instrument of our preservation; it resembles the provision for the perpetuity of mankind: it is necessary, it is dear to us, it gives us pleasure, and we must conceal it.
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
Let the punishments of criminals be useful. A hanged man is good for nothing; a man condemned to public works still serves the country, and is a living lesson.
