John Petit-Senn

“There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.”

“Malice is a greater magnifying glass than kindness.”

“Self-interest is the enemy of all true affection.”

“The art of pleasing is the art of deceiving.”

“Politeness is the flower of humanity.”

“To be without passions is to be poor.”

“A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool.”

“Jealousy is the sister of love, as the devil is the brother of angels.”

“Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.”

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

“Eloquence is the poetry of prose.”

“The most precious of all possessions is power over ourselves.”

“Hope is the dream of a waking man.”

“The desire of appearing clever often prevents our becoming so.”

“Our vanity is the constant enemy of our dignity.”

“Conscience is a sacred sanctuary where God alone may enter as judge.”

“That which we acquire with most difficulty we retain the longest.”

“To do evil for good is human corruption; to do good for good is civil retribution; but to do good for evil is Christian perfection.”

“The best of prophets of the future is the past.”