Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach Quotes

n every exalted joy, there mingles a sense of gratitude.

Unattainable wishes are often "pious." This seems to indicate that only profane wishes are fulfilled.

The understanding of some men is clear, that of others brilliant. The former illumines its surroundings; the latter obscures them.

To accept reason is impossible if you don't already possess it.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Fools usually know best that which the wise despair of ever comprehending.

You can sink so fast that you think you are flying.

Pain is the great teacher of mankind. Beneath its breath souls develop.

In this world, all power rests upon force.

Where would the power of women be, were it not for the vanity of men?

Many think that when they have confessed a fault there is no need of correcting it.

They understand but a little who understand only what can be explained.

We can be wise from goodness and good from wisdom.

Most imitators attempt the inimitable.

I regret nothing, says arrogance; I will regret nothing, says inexperience.

An aphorism is the last link in a long chain of thought.

As far as your self-control goes, as far goes your freedom.

New happiness too must be learned to bear.

Those who cannot remember clearly their own childhood are poor educators.

Generosity, to be perfect, should always be accompanied by a dash of humor.

No one is so eager to gain new experiences as he who doesn't know how to make use of the old ones.

One remains young as long as one can still learn, can still take on new habits, can bear contradictions.

We don't believe in rheumatism and true love until after the first attack.

Nothing is less promising than precocity. A young thistle is more like a future tree than is a young oak.

The poor man wishes to conceal his poverty, and the rich man his wealth: the former fears lest he be despised, the latter lest he be plundered.

Kindness which is not inexhaustible does not deserve the name.

An opinion may be controverted; a prejudice, never.

The sympathy of most people consists of a mixture of good-humour, curiosity, and self-importance.

It's bad enough when married people bore one another, but it's much worse when only one of them bores the other.

The simplest and most familiar truth seems new and wonderful the instant we ourselves experience it for the first time.

Who doesn't know anything, has to believe everything.

We usually learn to wait only when we have no longer anything to wait for.

That bad manners are so prevalent in the world is the fault of good manners.

He who believes in freedom of the will has never loved and never hated.

Authors from whom others steal should not complain, but rejoice. Where there is no game there are no poachers.

Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes.

Age either transfigures or petrifies.

How wise must one be to be always kind.

Happy slaves are the bitterest enemies of freedom.

Distrust your judgment the moment you can discern the shadow of a personal motive in it.

There is only one proof of ability - action.

Nowadays people are born to find fault. When they look at Achilles, they see only his heel.

Wit is an intermittent fountain; kindness is a perennial spring.

Between being able to and actually doing something lies an ocean, and on its bottom rests all too often the wreck of willpower.

Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right.

Many think they have a kind heart who have only weak nerves.

Nothing is so often and so irrevocably missed as the opportunity which crops up daily.

Privilege is the greatest enemy of right.