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Every man's vanity ought to be his greatest shame and every man's folly ought to be his greatest secret.

Francis Quarles

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Francis Quarles
Age: 52 †
Born: 1592
Born: May 8
Died: 1644
Died: September 8
Author
Poet
Writer
Havering
Shame
Ought
Greatest
Secret
Every
Men
Folly
Vanity

More quotes by Francis Quarles

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If thy faith have no doubts, thou has just cause to doubt thy faith and if thy doubts have no hope, thou hast just reason to fear despair when therefore thy doubts shall exercise thy faith, keep thy hopes firm to qualify thy doubts so shall thy faith be secured from doubts so shall thy doubts be preserved from despair.
Francis Quarles
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Deliberate long before thou consecrate a friend, and when thy impartial justice concludes him worthy of thy bosom, receive him joyfully, and entertain him wisely impart thy secrets boldly, and mingle thy thoughts with his: he is thy very self and use him so if thou firmly think him faithful, thou makest him so.
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Too much is a vanity enough is a feast.
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Let the greatest part of the news thou hearest be the least part of what thou believest, lest the greater part of what thou believest be the least part of what is true.
Francis Quarles
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Death aims with fouler spiteAt fairer marks.
Francis Quarles
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Mercy turns her back to the unmerciful.
Francis Quarles
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Heaven is never deaf but when man's heart is dumb.
Francis Quarles
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Lust is an immoderate wantonness of the flesh, a sweet poison, a cruel pestilence a pernicious poison, which weakeneth the body of man, and effeminateth the strength of the heroic mind.
Francis Quarles
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Anger may repast with thee for an hour, but not repose for a night the continuance of anger is hatred, the continuance of hatred turns malice.
Francis Quarles
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Be not too rash in the breaking of an inconvenient custom as it was gotten, so leave it by degrees. Danger attends upon too sudden alterations he that pulls down a bad building by the great may be ruined by the fall, but he that takes it down brick by brick may live to build a better.
Francis Quarles
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Hath fortune dealt thee ill cards? let wisdom make thee a good gamester. In a fair gale, every fool may sail, but wise behavior in a storm commends the wisdom of a pilot to bear adversity with an equal mind is both the sign and glory of a brave spirit.
Francis Quarles
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Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, how to be free from it, that's the point. Necessity of action takes away the fear of the act, and makes bold resolution the favorite of fortune.
Francis Quarles
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Pleasures bring effeminacy, and effeminacy foreruns ruin such conquests, without blood or sweat, sufficiently do revenge themselves upon their intemperate conquerors.
Francis Quarles
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Wickedness is its own punishment.
Francis Quarles
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Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it he that fears not gives advantage to the danger it is less folly not to endeavor the prevention of the evil thou fearest than to fear the evil which thy endeavor cannot prevent.
Francis Quarles
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Nor fire, nor rocks, can stop our furious minds, Nor waves, nor winds.
Francis Quarles
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If God send thee a cross, take it up willingly and follow him. Use it wisely, lest it be unprofitable. Bear it patiently, lest it be intolerable. If it be light, slight it not. If it be heavy, murmur not. After the cross is the crown.
Francis Quarles
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Lust is a sharp spur to vice, which always putteth the affections into a false gallop.
Francis Quarles
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Nothing is more pleasing to God than an open hand, and a closed mouth.
Francis Quarles
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Gold is Caesar's treasure, man is God's thy gold hath Caesar's image, and thou hast God's.
Francis Quarles