Men don’t so much blush for their Crimes, as for their Weaknesses and Vanity.
[Les hommes rougissent moins de leurs crimes que de leurs faiblesses et de leur vanité.]
Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 4 “Of the Heart [Du Coeur],” § 74 (4.74) (1688) [Bullord ed. (1696)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:
Men blush not so much for their Crimes, as for their Weaknesses and Vanity.
[Curll ed. (1713)]
Men don't so much blush for their Crimes, as for their Weaknesses and Vanity.
[Browne ed. (1752)]
Men are less ashamed of their crimes than of their weaknesses and their vanity.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]
Men are less ashamed of their crimes than of their failings and of what touches their vanity.
[tr. Stewart (1970)]
Quotations about:
blushing
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DIARY, n. A daily record of that part of one’s life, which he can relate to himself without blushing.
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Diary,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)
Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1882-05-24).
