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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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Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
Good
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Brief
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Excess
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More quotes by Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable

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Often our good deeds make enemies for us, and the ungrateful person despises us on two counts for he is not only unwilling to acknowledge the gratitude he owes us: he does not want to have his benefactor as witness to his thankless behavior.
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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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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We think highly of men when we do not know the extent of their capabilities, for we always suppose that more exists when we only see half.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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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.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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We judge matters so superficially that ordinary acts and words, done and spoken with some flair and some knowledge of worldly matters, often succeed better than the greatest cleverness.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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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.
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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Love is always master everywhere. It shapes the soul, the heart, and the mind wherever it exists. What matters is not the amount of love, but simply its existence in the mind and heart where it resides. And it truly appears that love is to the soul of the lover as the soul itself is to the body which it animates.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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Mean-spirited mediocrities, especially those with a smattering of learning, are the most likely to be opinionated. Only strong minds know how to correct their opinions and abandon a bad position.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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Instead of taking care to acquaint ourselves with others, we only think of making ourselves known to them. It would be better to listen to other people in order to become enlightened rather than to speak so as to shine in front of them.
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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We would often rather seem dutiful to others than to succeed in our duties and often we would rather tell our friends that we have done them good than to do good in actuality.
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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It is base to take advantage of our rank or greatness by making fun of those placed beneath us in life.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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There is a certain manner of self-absorption in speaking that always renders the speaker disagreeable. For it is as great a folly to listen only to ourselves while we are carrying on a conversation with others as it is to talk to ourselves while we are alone.
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.
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.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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We often value the exterior and superficial aspect of things more than their inner reality. Bad manners taint everything even justice and reason. The 'how' of things matters most, and even the most disagreeable matters can be sweetened and gilded over with the proper appearance. Such is the bias and the weakness of the human mind.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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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