William Hazlitt Quotes

But there is an unseemly exposure of the mind, as well as of the body.

Gallantry to women (the sure road to their favor) is nothing but the appearance of extreme devotion to all their wants and wishes, a delight in their satisfaction, and a confidence in yourself as being able to contribute toward it.

Horus non numero nisi serenas—"I count only the hours that are serene"—is the motto of a sundial near Venice. There is a softness and a harmony in the words and in the thought unparalleled.

Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.

If I have not read a book before, it is, to all intents and purposes, new to me, whether it was printed yesterday or three hundred years ago.

To get others to come into our ways of thinking, we must go over to theirs; and it is necessary to follow, in order to lead.

Happy are they who live in the dream of their own existence, and see all things in the light of their own minds; who walk by faith and hope; to whom the guiding star of their youth still shines from afar, and into whom the spirit of the world has not entered! They have not been "hurt by the archers", nor has the iron entered their souls. The world has no hand on them.

A gentleman is one who understands and shows every mark of deference to the claims of self-love in others, and exacts it in return from them.

We often forget our dreams so speedily: if we cannot catch them as they are passing out at the door, we never set eyes on them again.

We are not hypocrites in our sleep.

The way to secure success, is to be more anxious about obtaining than about deserving it; the surest hindrance to it is to have too high a standard of refinement in our own minds, or too high an opinion of the discernment of the public.

Learning is its own exceeding great reward; and at the period of which we speak, it bore other fruits, not unworthy of it.

So have I loitered my life away, reading books, looking at pictures, going to plays, hearing, thinking, writing on what pleased me best. I have wanted only one thing to make me happy, but wanting that have wanted everything.

Good temper is an estate for life…

The person whose doors I enter with most pleasure, and quit with most regret, never did me the smallest favour.