French moralist of the era of French Classical literature and author of Maximes and Memoirs
We are all strong enough to bear other men's misfortunes.
Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness.
As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish.
Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.
When a man is in love, he doubts, very often, what he most firmly believes.
We may seem great in an employment below our worth, but we very often look little in one that is too big for us.
Mediocre minds usually dismiss anything which reaches beyond their own understanding.
We only confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no big ones.
Nature seems at each man's birth to have marked out the bounds of his virtues and vices, and to have determined how good or how wicked that man shall be capable of being.
Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted.