481 Quotes by Jean De La Bruyere

"An 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."

"What the people call eloquence is the facility some persons have of speaking alone and for a long time, aided by extravagant gestures, a loud voice, and powerful lungs."

"A coxcomb is one whom simpletons believe to be a man of merit."

"All men's misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone."

"Incivility is not a Vice of the Soul, but the effect of several Vices; of Vanity, Ignorance of Duty, Laziness, Stupidity, Distraction, Contempt of others, and Jealousy."

"To make a book is as much a trade as to make a clock; something more than intelligence is required to become an author."

"The best thing next to wit is a consciousness that it is not in us; without wit, a man might then know how to behave himself, so as not to appear to be a fool or a coxcomb."

"One should never risk a joke, even of the mildest and most unexceptional charters, except among people of culture and wit."

"No man is so perfect, so necessary to his friends as to give them no cause to miss him less."

"Profound ignorance makes a man dogmatic. The man who knows nothing thinks he is teaching others what he has just learned himself; the man who knows a great deal can't imagine that what he is saying is not common knowledge, and speaks more indifferently."