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The same principle leads us to neglect a man of merit that induces us to admire a fool.

— Jean de La Bruyère

Du même fonds dont on néglige un homme de mérite l'on sait encore admirer un sot.

Original text (French)

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More quotes by Jean de La Bruyère

Wise men sometimes avoid the world, that they may not be surfeited with it.

Les Caractères (1688)

A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune, and favor cannot satisfy him.

Les Caractères (1688)

An intelligent man neither allows himself to be controlled nor attempts to control others; he wishes reason alone to rule, and that always.

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Time, which strengthens friendship, weakens love.

Les Caractères (1688)

There is, however, nothing wanting to the idleness of a philosopher but a better name, and that meditation, conversation, and reading should be called “work.”

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Jean de La Bruyère (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.