What we take for virtues is often only an assemblage of various actions and various interests, which chance or our industry manage to arrange. Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers. Whatever discoveries have been made in the country of self-love, there still remain many unknown lands. Self-love is more cunning than the most cunning man in the world. The duration of our passions no more depends on us than the duration of our life. Passion often makes a fool of the cleverest man, and often renders the stupidest clever. Great souls are not those which have fewer passions, but those which have greater ones. The strength and weakness of the mind are ill-named; they are in fact only the good or bad disposition of the organs. Moderation cannot claim the merit of combating ambition and subduing it, for it has never had that struggle. Moderation is the languor and laziness of the soul, as ambition is its activity and ardor. We all have enough strength to bear the misfortunes of others. The constancy of the wise is only the art of hiding their agitation in their heart. Those condemned to death sometimes display a constancy which is only the fear of death. Philosophy triumphs easily over past and future evils, but present evils triumph over her. Few people know death; they do not usually suffer it through resolution, but through stupidity and custom; and most men die because they cannot help dying. When great men let themselves be cast down by the length of their misfortunes, they show that they only sustained them through the strength of their ambition, and not through that of their soul; and that, apart from great vanity, heroes are made like other men. The clemency of princes is often only a policy to win the affection of the people. The clemency we show toward the ungrateful is often only a desire to be praised for our goodness. The moderation of happy people comes from the calm that good fortune gives to their temper. Pride is equal in all men, and the only difference is the means and manner of displaying it. It seems that nature, which has so wisely arranged the organs of our body to make us happy, has also given us pride to spare us the pain of knowing our imperfections. Gratitude is like the good faith of merchants: it maintains commerce; and we do not pay because it is just to discharge our debts, but to find more easily people who will lend to us. Everyone complains of their memory, and no one complains of their judgment. We give nothing so generously as our advice. The more one loves a mistress, the closer one is to hating her. Old age is a tyrant who forbids, on pain of death, all the pleasures of youth. The same pride which makes us blame the faults we think we are free from makes us despise the good qualities we do not have. The refusal of praise is a desire to be praised twice. The desire to merit the praise we give to what we say makes conversation more prudent. The greatest effort of friendship is not to show our faults to a friend, but to make him see his own.