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There is one in the world who feels for him who is sad a keener pang than he feels for himself; there is one to whom reflected joy is better than that which comes direct; there is one who rejoices in another's honor more than in any which is one's own; there is one on whom another's transcendent excellence sheds no beam but that of delight: that one is woman.

— Washington Irving Attributed

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More quotes by Washington Irving

There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity, that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble. It is only spurious pride that is morbid and sensitive, and shrinks from every touch.

The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1819)

A woman is more considerate in affairs of love than man; because love is more the study and business of her life.

Bracebridge Hall (1822)

There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted.

Good temper, like a sunny day, sheds a brightness over everything; it is the sweetener of toil and the soother of disquietude.

Gems for the Fireside (1882)

I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.

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Attribution

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