There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.
Jean de la BruyereThere is speaking well, speaking easily, speaking justly and speaking seasonably: It is offending against the last, to speak of entertainments before the indigent; of sound limbs and health before the infirm; of houses and lands before one who has not so much as a dwelling; in a word, to speak of your prosperity before the miserable; this conversation is cruel, and the comparison which naturally arises in them betwixt their condition and yours is excruciating.
Jean de la BruyereIf our life is unhappy it is painful to bear; if it is happy it is horrible to lose, So the one is pretty equal to the other.
Jean de la BruyereWhen we have run through all forms of government, without partiality to that we were born under, we are at a loss with which to side; they are all a compound of good and evil. It is therefore most reasonable and safe to value that of our own country above all others, and to submit to it.
Jean de la Bruyere