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Honor is like an island, rugged and without a beach; once we have left it, we can never return.

— Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux Satires (1716)

L'honneur est comme une ile escarpée et sans bords ;
On n'y peut plus rentrer dès qu'on en est dehors.

Original text (French)

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More quotes by Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

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)

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