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| A l’amour satisfait tout son charme est ôté—When love is satisfied all the charm of it is gone. | 1 |
| A liar is always lavish of oaths. | 2 |
| A raconter ses maux, souvent on les soulage—Our misfortunes are often lightened by relating them. | 3 |
| All evils, when extreme, are the same. | 4 |
| Brave men are brave from the very first. | 5 |
| C’est le crime qui fait honte, et non pas l’échafaud—It is the crime, not the scaffold, which is the disgrace. | 6 |
| Chaque instant de la vie est un pas vers la mort—Each moment of life is one step nearer death. | 7 |
| Deceit is a game played only by small minds. | 8 |
| Devine si tu peux, et choisis si tu l’oses—Solve the riddle if you can, and choose if you dare. | 9 |
| Elle a trop de vertus pour n’étre pas chrétienne—She has too many virtues not to be a Christian. | 10 |
| Et le combat cessa faute de combattants—And the battle ceased for want of combatants. | 11 |
| Et vaincre sans péril serait vaincre sans gloire—To conquer without peril would be to conquer without glory. | 12 |
| Every brave man is a man of his word. | 13 |
| He on whom Heaven bestows a sceptre knows not the weight of it till he bears it. | 14 |
| He who fears not death fears not threats. | 15 |
| Heaven often regulates effects by their causes, and pays the wicked what they have deserved. | 16 |
| Ici l’honneur m’oblige, et j’y veux satisfaire—Here honour binds me, and I am minded to satisfy her. | 17 |
| J’embrasse mon rival, mais c’est pour l’étouffer—I press my rival to my heart, but it is to smother him. | 18 |
| Jamais nous ne goûtons de parfaite allégresse; / Nos plus heureux succès sont mêlés de tristesse—We never taste happiness in perfection; our most fortunate successes are mixed with sadness. | 19 |
| Je n’ai mérité / Ni cet excès d’honneur ni cette indignité—I have deserved neither so much honour nor such disgrace. | 20 |
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| Je vois, je sais, je crois, je suis désabusé—I see, I know, I believe, I am undeceived. | 21 |
| L’amour soumet la terre, assujettit les cieux, / Les rois sont à ses pieds, il gouverne les dieux—Love rules the earth, subjects the heavens; kings are at his feet; he controls the gods. | 22 |
| La générosité suit la belle naissance; / La pitié l’accompagne et la reconnaissance—Generosity follows in the train of high birth; pity and gratitude are attendants. | 23 |
| La violence est juste où la douceur est vaine—Force is legitimate where gentleness avails not. | 24 |
| Le crime fait la honte, et non pas l’échafaud—It is the crime that’s the disgrace, not the scaffold. | 25 |
| Le feu qui semble éteint souvent dort dans la cendre—The fire which seems extinguished often slumbers in the ashes. | 26 |
| Le reste ne vaut pas l’honneur d’être nommé—The rest don’t deserve to be mentioned. | 27 |
| Le temps est un grand maître, il régle bien les choses—Time is a great master; it regulates things well. | 28 |
| Moi, moi, dis je, et c’est assez—I, I, say I, and that is enough. | 29 |
| Pour grands que soient les rois, ils sont ce que nous sommes; / Ils peuvent se tromper comme les autres hommes—However great kings may be, they are what we are; they may be deceived like other men. | 30 |
| Qu’on parle bien ou mal du fameux cardinal, / Ma prose ni mes vers n’en diront jamais rien; / Il m’a fait trop de bien pour en dire du mal, / Il m’a fait trop de mal pour en dire du bien—Let the world speak well or ill of the famous cardinal, neither in my prose or verse will I mention his name; he has done me too much kindness to speak ill of him, and too much injury to speak well. Of Richelieu. | 31 |
| Qui ne craint point la mort ne craint point les menaces—He who fears not death cares not for threats. | 32 |
| Qui pardonne aisément invite à l’offenser—He who easily forgives invites offences. | 33 |
| Qui peut ce qui lui plait, commande alors qu’il prie—He who can do what he pleases, commands when he entreats. | 34 |
| Qui veut mourir ou vaincre est vaincu rarement—He who is resolved to conquer or die is rarely conquered. | 35 |
| Rome n’est plus dans Rome; elle est toute où je suis—Rome is no longer in Rome; it is all where I am. | 36 |
| Ses rides sur son front ont gravé ses exploits—His furrows on his forehead testify to his exploits. | 37 |
| The game is not worth the candle. | 38 |
| The gods invariably make us pay dear for the great benefits they confer on us. | 39 |
| To conquer without danger would be to conquer without glory. | 40 |
| Tyran, descends du trône, et fais place à ton maître—Tyrant, come down from the throne, and give place to your master! | 41 |
| Un menteur est toujours prodigue de serments—A liar is always lavish of oaths. | 42 |
| We triumph without glory when we conquer without danger. | 43 |
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