139 quotes
If the world were good for nothing else, it is a fine subject for speculation.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
Learning is its own exceeding great reward; and at the period of which we speak, it bore other fruits, not unworthy of it.
The Plain Speaker (1826)
One shining quality lends a lustre to another, or hides some glaring defect.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
The perfect joys of heaven do not satisfy the cravings of nature.
The Round Table (1815)
The player envies only the player, the poet envies only the poet.
The Plain Speaker (1826)
Death is the greatest evil, because it cuts off hope.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.
The Plain Speaker (1826)
Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food.
Lectures on the English Comic Writers (1819)
Genius, like humanity, rusts for want of use.
The Plain Speaker (1826)
No young man believes he shall ever die.
An honest man speaks the truth, though it may give offence; a vain man, in order that it may.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest.
I do not think there is anything deserving the name of society to be found out of London.
Table-Talk (1822)
Every man, in his own opinion, forms an exception to the ordinary rules of morality.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
The title of Ultracrepidarian critics has been given to those persons who find fault with small and insignificant details.
To create an unfavourable impression, it is not necessary that certain things should be true, but that they have been said.
Characteristics (1823)
Satirists gain the applause of others through fear, not through love.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)
Grace in women has more effect than beauty.
The Round Table (1815)
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
Men and Manners: Sketches and Essays (1852)
Hope is the best possession. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope; and few are reduced so low as that.
Characteristics, in the manner of Rochefoucauld's Maxims (1823)