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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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Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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More quotes by 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
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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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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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Those who foolishly pride themselves on their nobility mistake that which makes them noble, for it is only the virtue of their ancestors that gives them noble blood.
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
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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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We nearly always make ourselves masters of those whom we know well, because he who is thoroughly understood is in some sense subject to those who understand him.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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When an opinionated person starts to challenge something, his mind shuts out all that could clear up the matter. The argument irritates him, however just it might be, and it seems that he is afraid of discovering the truth.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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It is a singular characteristic of love that we cannot hide it where it exists, or pretend it where it does not exist.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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Good results are sometimes owing to a failure of judgment, because the faculty of judgment often hinders us from undertaking many things which would succeed if carried through without thinking.
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 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 sometimes useful to pretend we are deceived, because when we show a deceiving man that we see through his artifices, we only encourage him to increase his deceptions.
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 always enough self-love hidden beneath the greatest devoutness to set limits on charity.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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Wealth does not teach us to transcend the desire for wealth. The possession of many goods does not bring the repose of not desiring them.
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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Honest and sincere acts mislead the wicked and cause them to lose their path to their own goals, because mean-spirited people usually believe that people never act without deceit.
Madeleine de Souvre, marquise de Sable
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There are petty-minded people who cannot endure to be reminded of their ignorance because, since they are usually quite blind to all things, quite foolish, and quite ignorant, they never question anything, and are persuaded that they see clearly what in fact they never see at all, save through the darkness of their own dispositions.
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