A man to whom no one is pleasing is much more unhappy than one who pleases nobody. - François de La Rochefoucauld

We only confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no big ones.

Man is so wretched that, while he shapes all of his conduct to gratify his passions, he groans incessantly under their tyranny. He can endure neither their violence, nor the violence that he would have to inflict on himself in order to rid himself of their yoke. He is frustrated not only by his vices, but also by the things that would cure them; and he cannot come to terms either with the discomfort of his afflictions or with the task of curing himself.

Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves.