281 quotes
Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Children have more need of models than of critics.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Certain critics resemble closely those people who when they would laugh show ugly teeth.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Of the two, I prefer those who render vice lovable to those who degrade virtue.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
When credulity comes from the heart it does no harm to the intellect.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Gravity is but the rind of wisdom; but it is a preservative rind.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Mediocrity is excellent to the eyes of mediocre people.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
To see the world is to judge the judges.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Words become luminous when the poet's finger has passed over them its phosphorescence.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Ignorance, which in behavior mitigates a fault, is, in literature, a capital offense.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
We live in an age in which superfluous ideas abound and essential ideas are lacking.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Necessity may render a doubtful act innocent, but it cannot make it praiseworthy.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
In these times gain is not only a matter of greed, but of ambition.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Superstition is the only religion of which base souls are capable.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Eyes raised toward heaven are always beautiful, whatever they be.
He who has imagination without learning has wings and no feet.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Words, like glass, darken whatever they do not help us to see.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Men must be either the slaves of duty, or the slaves of force.
You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some with you.
Pearls of Thought (1881)
Genius begins great works, labor alone finishes them.
Pearls of Thought (1881)