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We never taste a perfect joy;
Our happiest successes are mixed with sadness.

— Pierre Corneille Le Cid (1636)

Jamais nous ne goûtons de parfaite allégresse:
Nos plus heureux succès sont mêlés de tristesse.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Don Diègue, act III, scene v.

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More quotes by Pierre Corneille

Brave men are brave from the very first.

Le Cid (1636)

As great as kings may be, they are what we are: they can err like other men.

Le Cid (1636)

Oh, how sweet it is to pity the fate of an enemy, when we have no longer anything to fear from him!

La Mort de Pompée (1643)

Who is all-powerful should fear everything.

Cinna (1641)

He who is insulted has a right to be outraged, as unpunished audacity only increases!

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To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

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Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power.

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The weak shows his strength and hides his weaknesses; the magnificent exhibits his weaknesses like ornaments.

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Attribution

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