Moliere -- Le Misanthrope, Act 2, sc. 5 (1666) [tr. Wilbur (1954)]

Dave — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 20:53:49 +0000

ALCESTE: The more one loves, the more one should object
To every blemish, every least defect.
Were I this lady, I would soon get rid
Of lovers who approved of all I did,
And by their slack indulgence and applause
Endorsed my follies and excused my flaws.

[Plus on aime quelqu’un, moins il faut qu’on le flatte ;
À ne rien pardonner le pur amour éclate ;
Et je bannirais, moi, tous ces lâches amants
Que je verrais soumis à tous mes sentiments,
Et dont, à tous propos, les molles complaisances
Donneraient de l’encens à mes extravagances.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Le Misanthrope, Act 2, sc. 5 (1666) [tr. Wilbur (1954)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The more we love any one, the less we ought to flatter her. True love shows itself in overlooking nothing; and, were I a lady, I would banish all those mean-spirited lovers who submit to all my sentiments, and whose mild complacencies every moment offer up incense to my vagaries.
[tr. Van Laun (1878)]

The more we love any one, the less it behoves us to flatter them; true love shows itself by pardoning nothing, and for my part I would banish all those mean-spirited lovers whom I found submissive to all my opinions, and whose soft complaisance offered incense to all my extravagant ideas.
[tr. Mathew (1890), 2.6]

The more we love our friends, the less we flatter them; it is by excusing nothing that pure love shows itself. For my part, I would banish those unworthy lovers who slavishly submit to all my sentiments, and by their weak compliance swing incense to my follies.
[tr. Wormeley (1894)]

The more we love, the less ought we to flatter. True love shows itself in not pardoning anything; and, for my part, I would banish every one of those mean-spirited lovers who submit to all my views, whose tame compliance on every occasion burns incense to my vagaries.
[tr. Waller (1903), 2.4]

The more we love, the less we ought to flatter;
True love is proven by condoning nothing;
For my part, I would banish those base lovers
I found agreeing with my own opinions,
And pandering with weak obsequiousness
To my vagaries upon all occasions.
[tr. Page (1913)]

The more you love, the less you ought to flatter;
And true love is incapable of pardon.
If I were she, I'd banish all admirers
Submissive to my slightest sentiment,
Fawning upon me with their cheap applause
For even my most extreme extravagances.
[tr. Bishop (1957)]

Loving and flattering are worlds apart;
The least forgiving is the truest heart;
And I would send those soft suitors away,
Seeing they dote on everything I say,
And that their praise, complaisant to excess,
Encourages me in my foolishness.
[tr. Frame (1967), 2.4]

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 25 (1822)

Dave — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:32:31 +0000

Power multiplies flatterers, and flatterers multiply our delusions by hiding us from ourselves.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 25 (1822)
(Source)

Huxley, Aldous -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:27:55 +0000

To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
(Attributed)

In Reader's Digest (1934).

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-02 (1870 ed.)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Flattery iz like colone water, tew be smelt ov, not swallered.

[Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-02 (1870 ed.)
(Source)

This passage can be originally found in column material, e.g., in the Middlesex County Journal (Massachusetts) (1969-07-10), "Sollum Thoughts":

Flattery is like kolone water, tew be smelt ov, not swallowed.

WIST Quotations

Moliere -- Le Misanthrope, Act 2, sc. 5 (1666) [tr. Wilbur (1954)]

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 25 (1822)

Huxley, Aldous -- (Attributed)

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1870-02 (1870 ed.)