Nicolas Boileau
Nicolas Boileau
Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, often known simply as Boileau, was a French poet and critic...
wisdom men wisest-man
The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all.
men thinking rome
Of all the creatures that creep, swim, or fly, Peopling the earth, the waters, and the sky, From Rome to Iceland, Paris to Japan, I really think the greatest fool is man.
men effort fool
All men are fools, and with every effort they differ only in the degree.
men animal air
Of all the animals which fly in the air, walk on the land, or swim in the sea, from Paris to Peru, from Japan to Rome, the most foolish animal in my opinion is man.
mason talent
Be a mason instead, if you have a talent for that.
dinner forget fresh heart worth
Take fresh heart and never forget that a warmed-up dinner is worth nothing at all.
exalted light rhyme treating whether
Whether one is treating a light or an exalted subject, let the sense and the rhyme always agree.
evil fear leads
Often the fear of one evil leads us into a worse.
everywhere exposes good itself light offers says whether
Everywhere my thought offers and exposes itself to the light of day, and my verse, whether good or bad, always says something.
cease great shall winning
Great king, cease winning victories, or I shall give up writing.
happiness light graves
Happy who in his verse can gently steer From grave to light, from pleasant to severe.
age delight moral
But satire, ever moral, ever new, Delights the reader and instructs him, too. She, if good sense refine her sterling page, Oft shakes some rooted folly of the age.
world can-not please
He [Moliere] pleases all the world, but can- not please himself.
ignorance science admire
Ignorance is always ready to admire itself. Procure yourself critical friends.