Jean de la Bruyere
Jean de la Bruyere
Jean de La Bruyèrewas a French philosopher and moralist...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPhilosopher
CountryFrance
talking littles too-much
We seldom repent talking little, but very often talking too much.
truth men opposites
The opposite of what is noised about concerning men and things is often the truth. [Fr., Le contraire des bruits qui courent des affaires ou des personnes est souvent la verite.]
men vanity evil
A vain man finds his account in speaking good or evil of himself.
men vanity rocks
False glory is the rock of vanity; it seduces men to affect esteem by things which they indeed possess, but which are frivolous, and which for a man to value himself on would be a scandalous error.
vices feels huge
The same vices which are huge and insupportable in others we do not feel in ourselves.
greatness men good-man
The Great slight the men of wit, who have nothing but wit; the men of wit despise the Great, who have nothing but greatness; the good man pities them both, if with greatness or wit they have not virtue.
wealth peril
We all covet wealth, but not its perils.
birth-life-and-death suffering three
There are three great events in our lives: birth, life and death. Of birth we have no conscience; with death, we suffer; and, concerning life, we forget to live it.
writing justice perfection
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.
versailles manners caught
Courtly manners are contagious; they are caught at Versailles.
passion growth too-much
Love, slow and gradual in its growth, is too much like friendship ever to be a violent passion.
long lovers behavior
For a long time visits among lovers and professions of love are kept up through habit, after their behavior has plainly proved that love no longer exists.
art red faces
If women were by nature what they make themselves by art; if they were to lose suddenly all the freshness of their complexion, and their faces to become as fiery and as leaden as they make them with the red and the paint they besmear themselves with, they would consider themselves the most wretched creatures on earth.
pleasure glances obligation
There is a pleasure in meeting the glance of a person whom we have lately laid under some obligations.