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Luc de
philosophy passion men
The falsest of all philosophies is that which, under the pretext of delivering men from the embarrassment of their passions, counsels idleness and the abandonment and neglect of themselves.
reflection firm temperament
It is good to be firm by temperament and pliant by reflection.
perfection use clock
It is of no use to possess a lively wit if it is not of the right proportion: the perfection of a clock is not to go fast, but to be accurate.
causes deceiving neglect
The thought of death deceives us; for it causes us to neglect to live.
blow fortune equal
Neither the gifts nor the blows of fortune equal those of nature.
giving study fortune
We are forced to respect the gifts of nature, which study and fortune cannot give.
mean men practice
The generality of men are so bound within the sphere of their circumstances that they have not even the courage to get out of them through their ideas, and if we see a few whom, in a way, speculation over great things makes incapable of mean ones, we find still more with whom the practice of small things takes away the feeling for great ones.
men careers vanity
Men crowd into honorable careers without other vocation than their vanity, or at best their love of fame.
men vices sensible
It cannot be a vice in men to be sensible of their strength.
men intelligent doe
There does not exist a man sufficiently intelligent never to be tiresome.
light firsts morality
Some authors regard morality in the same light as we regard modern architecture. Convenience is the first thing to be looked for.
regulation emotion granted
Reason and emotion counsel and supplement each other. Whoever heeds only the one, and puts aside the other, recklessly deprives himself of a portion of the aid granted us for the regulation of our conduct.
men advice desire
It is unjust to exact that men shall do out of deference to our advice what they have no desire to do for themselves.
believe heart perfection
We can love with all our hearts those in whom we recognize great faults. It would be impertinent to believe that perfection alone has the right to please us; sometimes our weaknesses attach us to each other as much as our virtues.