There is no employment in the world so laborious as that of making to one's self a great name; life ends before one has scarcely made the first rough draught of his work.
Jean de la BruyereWhen what you read elevates your mind and fills you with noble aspirations, look for no other rule by which to judge a book; it is good, and is the work of a master-hand.
Jean de la BruyereIt is boorish to live ungraciously: the giving is the hardest part; what does it cost to add a smile?
Jean de la BruyereIt is through madness that we hate an enemy, and think of revenging ourselves; and it is through indolence that we are appeased, and do not revenge ourselves.
Jean de la BruyereFoolish jokers are thick on the ground, and it rains insects of that sort everywhere. A good joker is a rarity; even a man who is such by nature finds it hard to sustain the part for long; it seldom happens that the man who makes us laugh wins our esteem.
Jean de la BruyereAn egotist will always speak of himself, either in praise or in censure, but a modest man ever shuns making himself the subject of his conversation.
Jean de la BruyereWe are more sociable, and get on better with people by the heart than the intellect.
Jean de la BruyereToo great carelessness, equally with excess in dress, multiplies the wrinkles of old age, and makes its decay still more conspicuous.
Jean de la BruyereGrief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of his death, which distresses her so much that she forgets not the slightest detail about it.
Jean de la BruyereIn Friendship we only see those faults which may be prejudicial to our friends. In love we see no faults but those by which we suffer ourselves.
Jean de la BruyereThe passion of hatred is so long lived and so obstinate a malady that the surest sign of death in a sick person is their desire for reconciliation.
Jean de la BruyereThe slave has but one master, the ambitious man has as many as there are persons whose aid may contribute to the advancement of his fortunes.
Jean de la BruyereWe can recognize the dawn and the decline of love by the uneasiness we feel when alone together.
Jean de la BruyereWe meet With few utterly dull and stupid souls: the sublime and transcendent are still fewer; the generality of mankind stand between these two extremes: the interval is filled with multitudes of ordinary geniuses, but all very useful, and the ornaments and supports of the commonwealth.
Jean de la BruyereA man unattached and without wife, if he have any genius at all, may raise himself above his original position, may mingle with the world of fashion, and hold himself on a level with the highest; this is less easy for him who is engaged; it seems as if marriage put the whole world in their proper rank.
Jean de la BruyereFriendship * * * is a long time in forming, it is of slow growth, through many trials and months of familiarity.
Jean de la BruyereThere are only two ways by which to rise in this world, either by one's own industry or by the stupidity of others.
Jean de la BruyereNo man is so perfect, so necessary to his friends as to give them no cause to miss him less.
Jean de la BruyereThe most important things must be said simply, for they are spoiled by bombast; whereas trivial things must be described grandly, for they are supported only by aptness of expression, tone and manner.
Jean de la BruyereDuty is what goes most against the grain, because in doing that we do only what we are strictly obliged to, and are seldom much praised for it.
Jean de la BruyereThe shortest and best way to make your fortune is to let people see clearly that it is in their interest to promote yours.
Jean de la BruyereWe should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while they are alive is dangerous, and when they are dead is cowardly.
Jean de la BruyereA man of moderate Understanding, thinks he writes divinely: A man of good Understanding, thinks he writes reasonably.
Jean de la BruyereThose who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.
Jean de la BruyereThe same vices which are huge and insupportable in others we do not feel in ourselves.
Jean de la BruyereAn inconstant woman is one who is no longer in love; a false woman is one who is already in love with another person; a fickle woman is she who neither knows whom she loves nor whether she loves or not; and the indifferent woman, one who does not love at all.
Jean de la BruyereOne seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.
Jean de la BruyereAvoid lawsuits beyond all things; they pervert your conscience, impair your health, and dissipate your property.
Jean de la BruyereThe noblest deeds are well enough set forth in simple language; emphasis spoils them.
Jean de la Bruyere