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

A serious-minded author is not obliged to trouble his head about all the foolish sayings, the obscene remarks, and bad words that are uttered, or about the stupid constructions which some men put on certain passages of his writings; much less ought he to suppress them. He is convinced that let a man be never so careful in his writings, the insipid jokes of wretched buffoons are an unavoidable evil, since they often only turn the best things into ridicule.

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