French moralist of the era of French Classical literature and author of Maximes and Memoirs
The word virtue is as useful to self-interest as the vices.
The only thing that should surprise us is that there are still some things that can surprise us.
There is many a virtuous woman weary of her trade.
Gracefulness is to the body what understanding is to the mind.
We say little, when vanity does not make us speak.
How is it that we remember the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not remember how often we have recounted it to the same person?
The mind cannot long play the heart's role.
A man is sometimes as different from himself as he is from others.
We are sometimes as different from ourselves as we are from others.
The mind is always the patsy of the heart.