Solemnity is the fool’s shield and buckler.
[La gravité est la bouclier des sots.]
Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Pensées Diverses [Assorted Thoughts], # 1637 / 1051 (1720-1755) [ed. Guterman (1963)]
(Source)
(Source (French), # 1051). Other translations:Gravity is the shield of fools.
[tr. Clark (2012), # 1637]Solemnity is the shield of idiots.
[E.g.]
Quotations about:
pomp
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But man is a Noble Animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave, solemnizing Nativities and Deaths with equall lustre, nor omitting Ceremonies of bravery, in the infamy of his nature.
Thomas Browne (1605-1682) English physician and author
Hydriotaphia, or Urne-Buriall, ch. 5 (1658)
(Source)
Man is a military animal,
Glories in gunpowder, and loves parade;
Prefers them to all things.Philip James Bailey (1816-1902) English poet, lawyer
Festus, Sc. “A Metropolis – Public Place” [Lucifer] (1839)
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