216 quotes
One must not just have great qualities, but also economize them
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)
Only firm people can be truly soft.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)
Only great men have great faults.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)
Complete courage and absolute cowardice are extremes that very few men fall into. The vast middle space contains all the intermediate kinds and degrees of courage; and these differ as much from one another as men's faces or their humors do.
There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the air of a speaker as in his choice of words.
This is the reason that the majority of children please. It is because they are wrapt up in the air and manner nature has given them, and are ignorant of any other.
Reflections on Various Subjects (1665)
Usually we only praise to be praised.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)
We pardon to the extent that we love.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)
Envy is more implacable than hatred.
He loves to imitate. We often imitate the same person without perceiving it, and we neglect our own good qualities for the good qualities of others, which generally do not suit us.
Reflections on Various Subjects (1665)
There is a difference between an ardent and a brilliant mind, a fiery spirit travels further and faster, while a brilliant mind is sparkling, attractive, accurate.
Reflections on Various Subjects (1665)
Raillery is a kind of mirth which takes possession of the imagination, and shows every object in an absurd light; wit combines more or less softness or harshness.
Reflections on Various Subjects (1665)
The passions are the only orators that always persuade: they are, as it were, a natural art, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man with passion is more persuasive than the most eloquent without it.
What we term virtues are often but a mass of various actions and diverse interests, which fortune or our own industry manage to arrange; and it is not always from valour or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)
We should never say anything with an air of authority, nor show any superiority of mind. We should avoid far-fetched expressions, expressions hard or forced, and never let the words be grander than the matter.
Reflections on Various Subjects (1665)
There is a certain dignity of manner independent of fortune, a certain distinctive air which seems to mark us out for great things. It is a value we set upon ourselves without realizing it, and by means of this quality we claim other men’s deference as our due. This does more to set us above them than birth, honors, and merit itself.
Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665)