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We prefer people who are trying to imitate us more than those who are trying to equal us. This is because imitation is a sign of esteem, but the desire to equal others is a sign of envy.

Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable

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Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
Desire
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Envy
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More quotes by Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable

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The loftiness of understanding embraces all. It requires as much spirit to suffer the failings of others as it does to appreciate their good qualities.
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Ignorance makes for weakness and fear knowledge gives strength and confidence. Nothing surprises an intellect that knows all things with a sense of discrimination.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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It is base to take advantage of our rank or greatness by making fun of those placed beneath us in life.
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Although most friendships that exist do not merit the name, we can nevertheless make use of them in accordance with our needs, as a kind of commercial venture based on uncertain foundations and in which we are very often deceived.
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We must accustom ourselves to the follies of others and not be astonished at the foolishness that takes place in our presence.
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There is always enough self-love hidden beneath the greatest devoutness to set limits on charity.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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Often the desire to appear competent impedes our ability to become competent, because we more anxious to display our knowledge than to learn what we do not know.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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It is such a great fault to talk too much that, in business and conversation, if what is good is also brief, it is doubly good, and one gains by brevity what one often loses by an excess of words.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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It is a very trying task for deceitful people, always to have to cover up their lack of sincerity and to repair the breaking of their word.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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The conversation of those who like to lord it over us is very disagreeable. But we should always be ready to graciously acknowledge the truth, no matter in what guise it comes to us.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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There is as much wisdom in soliciting good counsel as in giving it. The most sensible people are not reluctant to consider the feelings of other people and to know how to submit to the wise guidance of others is a kind of wisdom in itself.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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There is no one who cannot derive great help and great benefit from learning but there are also only a few people who do not receive a great harm from the light and knowledge they have received by learning, unless they use their knowledge in a manner both fit and natural for them.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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When High and Mighty people want to make us believe that they possess some good quality which they in fact do not have, it is dangerous to show that you doubt them because, by removing their hope of deceiving the world, you also remove their desire to perform the good acts that might have arisen from their very pretensions.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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The ties of virtue ought to be closer than the ties of blood, since the good man is closer to another good man by their similarity of morals than the son is to his father by their similarity of face.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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We need not regard what good a friend has done us, but only his desire to do us good.
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It is a strength of character to acknowledge our failings and our strong points, and it is a weakness of character not to remain in harmony with both the good and the bad that is within us.
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This imperiousness which aids us in all things is merely a fitting authority which comes from superior spirit.
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He who uses trickery should at least make use of his judgment to learn that he can scarcely hide treacherous conduct for very long among clever men who are determined to find him out, although they may pretend to be deceived in order to disguise their knowledge of his deceitfulness.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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It is vain and useless to survey everything that goes on in the world if our study does not help us mend our ways.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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There is little advantage in pleasing ourselves when we please no one else, for our great self-love is often chastised by the scorn of others.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable