William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt
William Hazlittwas an English writer, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He is also acknowledged as the finest art critic of his age. Despite his high standing among historians of literature and art, his work is currently little read and mostly out of print...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionCritic
Date of Birth10 April 1778
self and-love sincerity
To be forward to praise others implies either great eminence, that can afford to, part with applause; or great quickness of discernment, with confidence in our own judgments; or great sincerity and love of truth, getting the better of our self-love.
betrayal secret violent
Violent antipathies are always suspicious, and betray a secret affinity.
men self mind
Persons without education certainly do not want either acuteness or strength of mind in what concerns themselves, or in things immediately within their observation; but they have no power of abstraction, no general standard of taste, or scale of opinion. They see their objects always near, and never in the horizon. Hence arises that egotism which has been remarked as the characteristic of self-taught men.
atmosphere disease vices
Vice, like disease, floats in the atmosphere.
life art order
Life is the art of being well deceived; and in order that the deception may succeed it must be habitual and uninterrupted.
friendship substance gone
Do not keep on with a mockery of friendship after the substance is gone - but part, while you can part friends. Bury the carcass of friendship: it is not worth embalming.
world fine speculation
If the world were good for nothing else, it is a fine subject for speculation.
wise men parent
No wise man can have a contempt for the prejudices of others; and he should even stand in a certain awe of his own, as if they were aged parents and monitors. They may in the end prove wiser than he.
positive-thinking quarrels dissatisfied
We are never so much disposed to quarrel with others as when we are dissatisfied with ourselves.
science desire causes
[Science is] the desire to know causes.
poetry remember poetry-is
Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life.
leadership hate stills
The multitude who require to be led, still hate their leaders.
journey thinking perfect
The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases.
writing men
The more a man writes, the more he can write.