The exact contrary of what is generally believed is often the truth.

The most exquisite pleasure is giving pleasure to others.

A mediocre mind thinks it writes divinely; a good mind thinks it writes reasonably.

The pleasure of criticizing robs us of the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things.

One mark of a second-rate mind is to be always telling stories.

A man can keep another’s secret better than his own. A woman her own better than others.

There are only three events in a man’s life; birth, life, and death; he is not conscious of being born, he dies in pain, and he forgets to live.

This great misfortune – to be incapable of solitude.

A vain man finds it wise to speak good or ill of himself; a modest man does not talk of himself.

We perceive when love begins and when it declines by our embarrassment when alone together.

The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love.

Everything has been said, and we are more than seven thousand years of human thought too late.

The pleasure of criticizing takes away from us the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things.

When a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any other standard to judge by: the work is good, the product of a master craftsman.

There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.

Grief at the absence of a loved one is happiness compared to life with a person one hates.

If some persons died and others did not die death would indeed be a terrible affliction.

The pleasure of criticism takes away from us the pleasure of being deeply moved by very fine things.

When a book raises your spirit, and inspires you with noble and manly thoughts, seek for no other test of its excellence. It is good, and made by a good workman.

It is a sad thing when men have neither the wit to speak well nor the judgment to hold their tongues.

Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other’s little failings.

Two quite opposite qualities equally bias our minds – habits and novelty.

Logic is the technique by which we add conviction to truth.

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Men blush less for their crimes than for their weaknesses and vanity.

Love and friendship exclude each other.

The unnamed should not be mistaken for the nonexistent.

We should laugh before being happy, for fear of dying without having laughed.

Next to sound judgment, diamonds and pearls are the rarest things in the world.

The very essence of politeness is to take care that by our words and actions we make other people pleased with us as well as with themselves.

We must laugh before we are happy, for fear of dying without having laughed at all.

Poverty may be the mother of crime, but lack of good sense is the father.

If poverty is the mother of all crimes, lack of intelligence is their father.

Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.