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
liars practice effort
Habitual liars invent falsehoods not to gain any end or even to deceive their hearers, but to amuse themselves. It is partly practice and partly habit. It requires an effort in them to speak truth.
hypocrisy hypocrite practice wishes
He is a hypocrite who professes what he does not believe; not he who does not practice all he wishes or approves
believe hypocrite practice
He is a hypocrite who professes what he does not believe; not he who does not practice all he wishes or approves.
opportunity men practice
The thing is plain. All that men really understand, is confined to a very small compass; to their daily affairs and experience; to what they have an opportunity to know, and motives to study or practice. The rest is affectation and imposture.
practice challenges impermanence
Our lives are ruled by impermanence. The challenge is how to create something of enduring value within the context of our impermanent lives. Soka Gakkai Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts.
practice
Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts.
crowd nine power ten throw
Every one in a crowd has the power to throw dirt: nine out of ten have the inclination
best insults submit
The best way to procure insults is to submit to them.
arbitrary ballot power screen useful
The ballot is only useful as a screen from arbitrary power.
affairs confined daily men motives opportunity rest small study understanding
The thing is plain. All that men really understand, is confined to a very small compass; to their daily affairs and experience; to what they have an opportunity to know, and motives to study or practice. The rest is affectation and imposture.
english-critic great himself man truly
No truly great man ever thought himself so.
english-critic faults friend talk
I like a friend better for having faults that one can talk about.
carriage existence graceful heard indebted nose scarcely whose
A person may be indebted for a nose or an eye, for a graceful carriage or a voluble discourse, to a great-aunt or uncle, whose existence he has scarcely heard of.
body imagination life outset
At the outset of life . . . our imagination has a body to it.