Our minds are better employed in bearing the misfortunes that do befall us than foreseeing those that may. If we had no faults we should not find so much enjoyment in seeing faults in others. Our misdeeds are easily forgotten when they are known only to ourselves. To try to be wise all on one's own is sheer folly. We often boast that we are never bored on our own, being so conceited that we refuse to find our own company dull.
Few people are wise enough to prefer useful criticism to the sort of praise which is their undoing.
Some bad qualities make great talents. We try to make virtues out of the faults we have no wish to correct. We all have strength enough to endure the troubles of others. Excessive hatred brings us down below the level of those we hate. Sometimes we think we dislike flattery, but it is only the way it is done that we dislike.