Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneillewas a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Jean Racine...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionDramatist
Date of Birth6 June 1606
CountryFrance
rebel awareness masters
Master of the universe but not of myself, I am the only rebel against my absolute power.
powerful crime enough
It is a crime against the State to be powerful enough to commit one.
In the service of Caesar, everything is legitimate.
honor disgrace
I have deserved neither so much honor or so much disgrace.
play ambassadors advisors
He who plays advisor is no longer ambassador.
pardon offense invites
He who pardons easily invites offense.
forgiveness forgiving offense
He who forgives readily only invites offense.
insulted-him insolence deserve
He who allows himself to be insulted deserves to be.
force gentleness
Force is legitimate where gentleness avails not.
life inspire steps
Each instant of life is a step toward death.
sadness perfect joy
We never taste a perfect joy; our happiest successes are mixed with sadness.
severity effects gentleness
Severity is allowable where gentleness has no effect.
self feelings cynicism
As our self-interests differ, so do our feelings.
misfortunes
By speaking of our misfortunes we often relieve them. [Fr., A raconter ses maux souvent on les soulage.]