Quote

He who only writes to suit the taste of the age, considers himself more than his writings. We should always aim at perfection, and then posterity will do us that justice which sometimes our contemporaries refuse us.

Jean de la Bruyere

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Jean de la Bruyere
Age: 50 †
Born: 1645
Born: August 16
Died: 1696
Died: May 10
Aphorist
Essayist
French Moralist
Lawyer
Philosopher
Translator
Writer
Paris
France
Jean de La Bruyere
Sometimes
Suit
Writing
Suits
Always
Aim
Refuse
Contemporaries
Perfection
Considers
Taste
Writings
Justice
Posterity
Age
Writes

More quotes by Jean de la Bruyere

Image
It would be a kind of ferocity to reject indifferently all sorts of praise. One should be glad to have that which comes from good men who praise in sincerity things that are really praiseworthy.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
We are valued in this world at the rate we desire to be valued.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
If poverty is the mother of all crimes, lack of intelligence is the father.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
A vain man finds it wise to speak good or ill of himself a modest man does not talk of himself.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
We need not envy certain people their great wealth they acquired it at a heavy cost, which would not suit us they staked their rest, their health, their honour and their conscience to acquire it, the price is too high, and there is nothing to be gained by such a bargain.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
It's motive alone which gives character to the actions of men.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
We seldom repent of speaking little, very often of speaking too much: a vulgar and trite maxim, which all the world knows and, but which all the world does not practice
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
We dread old age, which are not sure of being able to attain. [Fr., L'on craint la vieillesse, que l'on n'est pas sur de pouvoir atteindre.]
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
Children are contemptuous, haughty, irritable, envious, sneaky, selfish, lazy, flighty, timid, liars and hypocrites, quick to laugh and cry, extreme in expressing joy and sorrow, especially about trifles, they'll do anything to avoid pain but they enjoy inflicting it: little men already.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
Children are overbearing, supercilious, passionate, envious, inquisitive, egotistical, idle, fickle, timid, intemperate, liars, and dissemblers they laugh and weep easily, are excessive in their joys and sorrows, and that about the most trifling objects they bear no pain, but like to inflict it on others already they are men.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
It is the glory and merit of some men to write well and of others not to write at all.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
There is a pleasure in meeting the glance of a person whom we have lately laid under some obligations.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
A man is rich whose income is larger than his expenses, and he is poor if his expenses are greater than his income.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
There are some men who turn a deaf ear to reason and good advice, and willfully go wrong for fear of being controlled.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
When a man puts on a Character he is a stranger to, there's as much difference between what he appears, and what he is really in himself, as there is between a VIzor and a Face.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
A man who is free and unmarried, if he has some intelligence, can rise above his fortune, mingle in society and meet the best people on an equal footing. This is harder for a married man: marriage, it seems, confines every man to his proper rank.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
The beginning and the end of love are both marked by embarrassment when the two find themselves alone. [Fr., Le commencement et le declin de l'amour se font sentir par l'embarras ou l'on est de se trouver seuls.]
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
The punishment of a criminal is an example to the rabble but every decent man is concerned if an innocent person is condemned.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
A prince wants only the pleasure of private life to complete his happiness.
Jean de la Bruyere
Image
To make a book is as much a trade as to make a clock something more than intelligence is required to become an author.
Jean de la Bruyere