Jean de La Bruyère Quotes

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

If some persons died and others did not die death would indeed be a terrible affliction.

The true spirit of conversation consists more in bringing out the cleverness of others than in showing a great deal of it yourself; he who goes away pleased with himself and his own wit is also greatly pleased with you. Most men would rather please than admire you; they seek less to be instructed, and even to be amused, than to be praised and applauded.

We can recognize the dawn and the decline of love by the uneasiness we feel when alone together.

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

One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.

Ce grand malheur, de ne pouvoir etre seul.

Not to be able to bear with all bad-tempered people with whom the world is crowded, shows that a man has not a good temper himself.

The very essence of politeness is to take care that by our words and actions we make other people pleased with us as well as with themselves.

Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.

that man is good who does good to others; if he suffers on account of the good he does, he is very good; if he suffers at the hands of those to whom he has done good, then his goodness is so great that it could be enhanced only by greater sufferings; and if he should die at their hands, his virtue can go no further: it is heroic, it is perfect

Time, which strengthens friendship, weakens love.

The pleasure of criticism takes away from us the pleasure of being deeply moved by very fine things.

We are afraid of the old age which we may never attain.

If it is true that one is poor on account of all the things one wants, the ambitious and the avaricious languish in extreme poverty.