277 Quotes by Johann Kaspar Lavater

He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly answers and ceases when he has no more to say is in possession of some of the best requisites of man.

Who is open without levity; generous without waste; secret without craft; humble without meanness; bold without insolence; cautious without anxiety; regular, yet not formal; mild, yet not timid; firm, yet not tyrannical – is made to pass the ordeal of honor, friendship, virtue.

As your enemies and your friends, so are you.

True worth is as inevitably discovered by the facial expression, as its opposite is sure to be clearly represented there. The human face is nature’s tablet, the truth is certainly written thereon.

Learn the value of a man’s words and expressions, and you know him. Each man has a measure of his own for everything; this he offers you inadvertently in his words. He who has a superlative for everything wants a measure for the great or small.

He surely is most in need of another’s patience, who has none of his own.

Don’t speak evil of someone if you don’t know for certain, and if you do know ask yourself, why am I telling it?

He who can conceal his joys, is greater than he who can hide his griefs.

Three things characterize man: person, fate, merit – the harmony of these constitutes real grandeur.