Some men speak one moment before they think; others tediously study everything they say, and in conversation bore us as painfully as was the travail … - Jean de La Bruyère

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Some men speak one moment before they think; others tediously study everything they say, and in conversation bore us as painfully as was the travail of their mind; they are, as it were, made up of phrases and quaint expressions, whilst their gestures are as affected as their behaviour. They call themselves "purists," and do not venture to say the most trifling word not in use, however expressive it may be. Nothing comes from them worth remembering, nothing is spontaneous and unrestrained; they speak correctly, but they are very tiresome.

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About Jean de La Bruyère

Jean de La Bruyère (16 August 1645 – 10 May 1696) was a French essayist and moralist.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Jean de La Bruyere Bruyère
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Additional quotes by Jean de La Bruyère

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

There are a great many obscene minds, yet more railing and satirical, but very few fastidious ones. A man must have good manners, be very polite, and even have a great deal of originality to be able to jest gracefully and be felicitous in his remarks about trifles; to jest in such a manner and to make something out of nothing is to create.

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Rien ne fait mieux comprendre le peu de chose que Dieu croit donner aux hommes, en leur abandonnant les richesses, l'argent, les grands établissements et les autres biens, que la dispensation qu'il en fait, et le genre d'hommes qui en sont le mieux pourvus.

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