The true spirit of conversation consists more in bringing out the cleverness of others than in showing a great deal of it yourself.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
“Of Society and of Conversation,” The Characters (1688) [tr. H. van Laun (1929)]
The finest pleasure is kindness to others.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
(Attributed)
All men’s misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
Characters (1688)
A man has made great progess in cunning when he does not seem too clever to others.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
Characters, “Of the Court” (1688)
Men blush less for their crimes than for their weaknesses and vanity.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
Les Caract
If we heard it said of Orientals that they habitulally drank a liquor which went to their heads, deprived them of reason and made them vomit, we should say, “How very barbarous!”
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
Les Caracteres (1688)
A slave has but one master; an ambitious man has as many masters as there are people who may be useful in bettering his position.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
Les Caractères (1688)
The first thing men do when they have renounced pleasure, through decency, lassitude, or for the sake of health, is to condemn it in others. Such conduct denotes a kind of latent affection for the very things they left off; they would like no one to enjoy a pleasure they can no longer indulge in; and thus they show their feelings of jealousy.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters, “Of Mankind” (1688)
trans. van Laun (1929)
The sweetest music is the sound of the voice of the woman we love.
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters, “Of Women” (10) (1688) [tr. van Laun (1929)]
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