5.—The duration of our passions is no more dependant upon us than the duration of our life. [Then what becomes of free will?—Aimé; Martin]
6.—Passion often renders the most clever man a fool, and even sometimes renders the most foolish man clever.
7.—Great and striking actions which dazzle the eyes are represented by politicians as the effect of great designs, instead of which they are commonly caused by the temper and the passions. Thus the war between Augustus and Anthony, which is set down to the ambition they entertained of making themselves masters of the world, was probably but an effect of jealousy.
8.—The passions are the only advocates which always persuade. They are a natural art, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man with passion will be more persuasive than the most eloquent without.
[See Maxim 249 which is an illustration of this.]
9.—The passions possess a certain injustice and self interest which makes it dangerous to follow them, and in reality we should distrust them even when they appear most trustworthy.
10.—In the human heart there is a perpetual generation of passions; so that the ruin of one is almost always the foundation of another.
11.—Passions often produce their contraries: avarice sometimes leads to prodigality, and prodigality to avarice; we are often obstinate through weakness and daring though timidity.
12.—Whatever care we take to conceal our passions under the appearances of piety and honour, they are always to be seen through these veils.
[The 1st edition, 1665, preserves the image perhaps better—"however we may conceal our passions under the veil, etc., there is always some place where they peep out.">[