33 quotes
Honor is like an island, rugged and without a beach; once we have left it, we can never return.
Satires (1716)
Time flies and draws us with it. The moment in which I am speaking is already far from me.
Épitres (1701)
Hasten slowly, and without losing heart,
Put your work twenty times upon the anvil.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
Happy the poet who with ease can steer
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
A fool always finds one still more foolish to admire him.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
Virtue alone is the unerring sign of a noble soul.
Satires (1716)
Often the fear of one evil leads us into a worse.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
Let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace.
Épitres (1701)
That which is repeated too often becomes insipid and tedious.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
Can such bitterness enter into the heart of the devout?
Le Lutrin (1683)
Trouble rides behind and gallops with him.
Épitres (1701)
Un fat quelquefois ouvre un avis important.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
Whatever is well conceived is clearly said,
And the words to say it flow with ease.
The Art of Poetry (1674)
He (Molière) pleases all the world, but cannot please himself.
Satires (1716)
The wisest man is he who is certain he is not.
Satires (1716)
Nothing but truth is lovely, nothing fair.
To support Thy rights, heaven-condoned, Destroy all else; that is the spirit of the Church.
Le Lutrin (1683)
The terrible burden of having nothing to do.
Of all the creatures that creep, swim, or fly,
Peopling the earth, the waters, and the sky,
From Rome to Iceland, Paris to Japan,
I really think the greatest fool is man.
Satires (1716)