WIST Quotations

Horace -- Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 2, ep. 1 “To Augustus,” l. 262ff (2.1.262-263) (14 BC) [tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

Dave — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 21:22:50 +0000

We learn more quickly and bring back to mind more readily
The things we laugh at than those we respect and revere.

[Discit enim citius, meminitque libentius ilud
Quod quis deridet, quam quod probat et veneratur.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Epistles [Epistularum, Letters], Book 2, ep. 1 “To Augustus,” l. 262ff (2.1.262-263) (14 BC) [tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]
(Source)

On why he declines to write epic poetry: because he doubts his talents, and the public will remember only if it's a bad poem. Which is especially problematic if the poem is about someone (like Augustus) still alive.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

A man may soner beare awaye and rather kepe in mynde
The thinge deryded, then that is prayse worthie in his kynde.
[tr. Drant (1567)]

For Readers so malicious now are growne,
What's bad they'll con, what's good they let alone.
[tr. W. P.; ed. Brome (1666)]

For what's derided by the Censuring Crowd,
Is thought on more than what is just and Good.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

For quickly we discern,
With ease remember, and with pleasure learn,
Whate'er may ridicule and laughter move,
Not what deserves our best esteem and love.
[tr. Francis (1747)]

For sooner caught and steadier to abide
On memory's tablet that which we deride,
Than what revere.
[tr. Howes (1845)]

For one learns sooner, and more willingly remembers, that which a man derides, than that which he approves and venerates.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

For easier 'tis to learn and recollect
What moves derision than what claims respect.
[tr. Conington (1874)]

For we learn quicker, gladlier recollect
What makes us laugh, than what commands respect.
[tr. Martin (1881)]

The subject of our zeal sooner hears of, and is more inclined to remember, that which any one laughs at in the production than what he approves of and eulogizes.
[tr. Elgood (1893)]

For a man learns more quickly and remembers more easily that which he laughs at, than that which he approves and reveres.
[E.g. (1907)]

For one sooner learns
And easier remembers such concerns
As men deride that those men favor lend
And venerate.
[tr. A. F. Murison (1931); ed. Kramer, Jr. (1936)]

For we all more quickly learn and easily remember
the poems we scorn than those we approve of and respect.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]

And writers of foolish poems often find
They're vividly and scornfully remembered.
[tr. Ferry (2001)]

For a thing that causes merriment is always sooner learnt
and longer remembered than what commands respect and approval.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

Men remember more quickly, with greater readiness,
Things they deride, than those they approve and respect.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1995-01-19)

Dave — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 20:30:26 +0000

CALVIN: I’m thinking of starting my own talk radio show. I’ll spout simplistic opinions for hours on end, ridicule anyone who disagrees with me, and generally foster divisiveness, cynicism, and a lower level of public dialogue!

HOBBES: It would seem you were born for the job.

CALVIN: Imagine getting paid to act like a six-year-old!

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1995-01-19)
(Source)

Thoreau, Henry David -- Speech (1854-07-04), “Slavery in Massachusetts,” Anti-Slavery Celebration, Framingham, Massachusetts

Dave — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 23:36:10 +0000

I wish my countrymen to consider, that whatever the human law may be, neither an individual nor a nation can ever commit the least act of injustice against the obscurest individual, without having to pay the penalty for it. A government which deliberately enacts injustice, and persists in it, will at length even become the laughing-stock of the world.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American philosopher and writer
Speech (1854-07-04), “Slavery in Massachusetts,” Anti-Slavery Celebration, Framingham, Massachusetts
(Source)

After the conviction in Boston of Anthony Burns, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This led to large protests and an abolitionist riot at the Boston Courthouse, requiring Federal troops and state militia to ensure Burns' transport to a ship sailing to Virginia.

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Fashion,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 14:03:50 +0000

FASHION, n. A deity whom the wise ridicule, yet the discreet obey.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Fashion,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

In The Devil's Dictionary (1911), it is defined as: "FASHION, n. A despot whom the wise ridicule and obey."

Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1884-06-28).

Austen, Jane -- Pride and Prejudice, ch. 57 [Mr. Bennet] (1813)

Dave — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 16:43:53 +0000

For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author
Pride and Prejudice, ch. 57 [Mr. Bennet] (1813)
(Source)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Ambition,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 01:01:38 +0000

AMBITION, n. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Ambition,” 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, where the entry read:

An overmastering desire to be abused by the newspapers during life, and have an epitaph by Hector A. Stuart after death.

Bierce frequently mocked the verse of Stuart, a San Francisco poet.

Dickens, Charles -- A Christmas Carol, Stave 5 “The End of It” (1843)

Dave — Fri, 19 May 2023 03:45:33 +0000

Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English writer and social critic
A Christmas Carol, Stave 5 “The End of It” (1843)
(Source)

Gilligan, James -- Interview in Jon Ronson, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, ch. 13 (2015)

Dave — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 21:30:58 +0000

I have yet to see a serious act of violence that was not provoked by the experience of feeling shamed or humiliated, disrespected and ridiculed.

James Gilligan (b. c. 1936) American psychiatrist and author
Interview in Jon Ronson, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, ch. 13 (2015)
(Source)

Aristotle -- Poetics [Περὶ ποιητικῆς, De Poetica], ch. 5 / 1449a (c. 335 BC) [tr. Bywater (1909)]

Dave — Fri, 07 May 2021 20:10:47 +0000

As for Comedy, it is (as has been observed) an imitation of men worse than the average; worse, however, not as regards any and every sort of fault, but only as regards one particular kind, the Ridiculous, which is a species of the Ugly. The Ridiculous may be defined as a mistake or deformity not productive of pain or harm to others; the mask, for instance, that excites laughter, is something ugly and distorted without causing pain.

[ἡ δὲ κωμῳδία ἐστὶν ὥσπερ εἴπομεν μίμησις φαυλοτέρων μέν, οὐ μέντοι κατὰ πᾶσαν κακίαν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ αἰσχροῦ ἐστι τὸ γελοῖον μόριον. τὸ γὰρ γελοῖόν ἐστιν ἁμάρτημά τι καὶ αἶσχος ἀνώδυνον καὶ οὐ φθαρτικόν, οἷον εὐθὺς τὸ γελοῖον πρόσωπον αἰσχρόν τι καὶ διεστραμμένον ἄνευ ὀδύνης.]

Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Poetics [Περὶ ποιητικῆς, De Poetica], ch. 5 / 1449a (c. 335 BC) [tr. Bywater (1909)]
(Source)

Original Greek. Alternate translations:

Comedy is, as we have said, an imitation of characters of a lower type -- not, however, in the full sense of the word bad, the ludicrous being merely a subdivision of the ugly. It consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive. To take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not imply pain.
[tr. Butcher (1895)]

Comedy is, as we stated, the portrayal of an inferior class, yet not in all their inferiority, being the ludicrous side of ugliness abstracted. Ludicrousness is the painless and non-destructive variety of the species ugliness of the genus failing; thus, e.g., a ludicrous countenance is ugly and distorted, but not painful.
[tr. Margoliouth (1911)]

Comedy, as we have said, is a representation of inferior people, not indeed in the full sense of the word bad, but the laughable is a species of the base or ugly. It consists in some blunder or ugliness that does not cause pain or disaster, an obvious example being the comic mask which is ugly and distorted but not painful.
[tr. Fyfe (1932), sec. 3.4]

Comedy is, as we said, a representation of people who are rather inferior -- not, however, with respect to every kind of vice, but the laughable is [only] a part of what is ugly. For the laughable is a sort of error and ugliness that is not painful and destructive, just as, evidently, a laughable mask is something ugly and distorted without pain.
[tr. Janko (1987), sec. 2.4]

Comedy is, as we said, a mimesis of inferior persons not however that it has to do with the whole range of wickedness but with what is funny -- an aspect of ugliness. A funny thing, to be precise, is a clumsy mistake that is not painful or destructive: or to take an obvious example, the comic mask is ugly and grotesque but not repulsive or painful.
[tr. Whalley (1997)]

Comedy, as we said, is an imitation of people of a lower sort, though not in respect to every vice; rather, what is ridiculous is part of what is ugly. For the ridiculous is a certain sort of missing the mark and a deformity that is painless and not destructive; an immediate example is the comic mask, which is something deformed and misshapen without causing pain.
[tr. Sachs (2006)]

Comedy is, as we said, representation of people who are inferior but not wholly vicious: the ridiculous is one category of the embarrassing. What is ridiculous is some error embarrassment that is neither painful nor life-threatening; for example, a comic mask is ugly and distorted but does not cause pain.
[tr. Kenny (2013)]

Pascal, Blaise -- Thoughts [Pensées], Article 7, #35 (1670)

Dave — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 02:49:15 +0000

To ridicule philosophy, that is really to act the philosopher.

[Se moquer de la philosophie c’est vraiment philosophe.]

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French scientist and philosopher
Thoughts [Pensées], Article 7, #35 (1670)

Pascal's works are sorted and classified by translators in a variety of ways, so numbering is inconsistent. Alternate translations:

"To have no time for philosophy is to be a true philosopher." [tr. Krailsheimer (2003); Series 22, #513]
"To make light of philosophy is to be a true philosopher." [tr. Paul (1885), "Various Thoughts"; also Trotter (1958), Sec. 1, #4]
"To ridicule philosophy is really to philosophize." [#430]
"To ridicule philosophy is truly philosophical."
"To mock philosophy is to philosophize truly"
"To mock philosophy is to be a true philosopher."

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #141 (16 Feb 1748)

Dave — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 19:51:31 +0000

But when you frequent places of public worship, as I would have you go to all the different ones you meet with, remember that, however erroneous, they are none of them objects of laughter and ridicule. Honest error is to be pitied, not ridiculed. The object of all the public worships in the world is the same; it is that great eternal Being who created everything. The different manners of worship are by no means subjects of ridicule. Each sect thinks its own the best; and I know no infallible judge, in this world, to decide which is the best.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #141 (16 Feb 1748)
(Source)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #126 (21 Sep 1747)

Dave — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:02:11 +0000

There is another sort of lies, inoffensive enough in themselves, but wonderfully ridiculous; I mean those lies which a mistaken vanity suggests, that defeat the very end for which they are calculated, and terminate in the humiliation and confusion of their author, who is sure to be detected. These are chiefly narrative and historical lies, all intended to do infinite honor to their author. He is always the hero of his own romances; he has been in dangers from which nobody but himself ever escaped; he as seen with his own eyes, whatever other people have heard or read of; he has had more bonnes fortunes than ever he knew women; and has ridden more miles post in one day, than ever courier went in two. He is soon ridiculed, and as soon becomes the object of universal contempt and ridicule.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #126 (21 Sep 1747)
(Source)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #126 (21 Sep 1747)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:25:44 +0000

Every man’s reason is, and must be, his guide; and I may as well expect that every man should be of my size and complexion, as that he should reason just as I do. Every man seeks for truth; but God only knows who has found it. It is, therefore, as unjust to persecute as it is absurd to ridicule people for those several opinions which they cannot help entertaining upon the conviction of their reason.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #126 (21 Sep 1747)
(Source)

Speaking of religious beliefs.

Shear, Marie -- “Media Watch: Celebrating Women’s Words,” New Directions for Women (May/Jun 1986)

Dave — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 21:19:47 +0000

Ridicule: After rape, the second most powerful method of controlling women.

Marie Shear (1940-2017) American writer and feminist activist
“Media Watch: Celebrating Women’s Words,” New Directions for Women (May/Jun 1986)
(Source)

Moliere -- Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite [Le Tartuffe, ou L’Imposteur], Preface (1669-03) [tr. Kerr]

Dave — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 17:37:36 +0000

To expose vices to everyone’s laughter is to deal them a mighty blow. People easily endure reproofs, but they cannot at all endure being made fun of. People have no objection to being considered wicked, but they are not willing to be considered ridiculous.

[C’est une grande atteinte aux vices que de les exposer à la risée de tout le monde. On souffre aisément des répréhensions, mais on ne souffre point la raillerie. On veut bien être méchant, mais on ne veut point être ridicule.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite [Le Tartuffe, ou L’Imposteur], Preface (1669-03) [tr. Kerr]
(Source)

Moliere's preface explained once more the history of attacks on and suppression of his play, following up on the several petitions he had made to King Louis XIV. While the play had been first performed in 1664, it was only in 1669 that its final version was removed from the ban placed on it by Church officials.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

To expose vices to the ridicule of all the world is a severe blow to them. Reprehensions are easily suffered, but not so ridicule. People do not mind being wicked; but they object to being made ridiculous.
[tr. Van Laun (1876)]

Displaying vice to mockery of men deals it a great blow. Men will put up with admonition but are loath to be mocked. One might be willing to be wicked; one cannot bear to appear foolish.
[tr. Steiner (2008)]

Unamuno, Miguel de -- The Tragic Sense of Life [Del Sentimiento Trágico de la Vida], Conclusion (1913) [tr. Flitch (1921)]

Dave — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 13:10:40 +0000

The greatest height of heroism to which an individual, like a people, can attain is to know how to face ridicule; better still, to know how to make oneself ridiculous and not to shrink from the ridicule.

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) Spanish philosopher and writer [Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo]
The Tragic Sense of Life [Del Sentimiento Trágico de la Vida], Conclusion (1913) [tr. Flitch (1921)]
(Source)

Voltaire -- Letter to M. Damilaville (16 May 1767)

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 23:52:33 +0000

I have never made but one prayer to God, and very short one: “O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.” And God granted it.

Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
Letter to M. Damilaville (16 May 1767)

Johnson, Samuel -- Comment (4 Jun 1781)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 14:23:15 +0000

A jest breaks no bones.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment (4 Jun 1781)

In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Letter (1863-11-02) to James H. Hackett

Dave — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 21:09:19 +0000

My note to you I certainly did not expect to see in print; yet I have not been much shocked by the newspaper comments on it. Those comments constitute a fair specimen of what has occurred to me through life. I have endured a great deal of ridicule without much malice; and have received a great deal of kindness, not quite free from ridicule. I am used to it.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Letter (1863-11-02) to James H. Hackett
(Source)

Lincoln's first letter (1863-08-17) to Hackett, a famous comedic stage actor, in which he talked about Shakespeare's plays, was published in the New York Herald, and drew criticism and mockery from Lincoln's detractors.

Jefferson, Thomas -- Essay (1776-10?), “Notes on Religion”

Dave — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 23:58:50 +0000

In the middle ages of Christianity opposition to the State opinions was hushed. The consequence was, Christianity became loaded with all the Romish follies. Nothing but free argument, raillery, and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Essay (1776-10?), “Notes on Religion”
(Source)

Labeled by Jefferson "Scraps Early in the Revolution." Modern phrasing. Original:

In the middle ages of Xty opposition to the State opins was hushed. The consequence was, Xty became loaded with all the Romish follies. Nothing but free argument, raillery & even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.

Johnson, Samuel -- The Rambler, #117 (30 Apr 1751)

Dave — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 12:46:06 +0000

Nothing has more retarded the advancement of learning than the disposition of vulgar minds to ridicule and vilify what they cannot comprehend.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
The Rambler, #117 (30 Apr 1751)
(Source)

Presented as a letter from "Hypertatus"

Horace -- Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 2, # 1 “Sunt quibus in Satira,” l. 44ff (2.2.44-46) (30 BC) [tr. Howes (1845)]

Dave — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:56:54 +0000

But he that touches me, (hands off! I cry, —
Avaunt, and at your peril come not nigh!)
Shall for his pains be chaunted up and down,
The jest and byeword of a chuckling Town.

[At ille,
Qui me conmorit (melius non tangere, clamo),
Fiebit et insignis tota cantabitur urbe.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 2, # 1 “Sunt quibus in Satira,” l. 44ff (2.2.44-46) (30 BC) [tr. Howes (1845)]
(Source)

On the dangers of antagonizing a satirist.

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

[...] that none woulde worke me wo.
But worke they doo, but who so does, though he be divelyshe fell,
I blason farre and nere his armes, and wanton touches tell.
He may go howle, and pule for wo, the citizens will scorn hym,
And cause him wyshe full many a tyme, his damme had never borne hym.
[tr. Drant (1567)]

And none bereave
The peace I seek. But if there do, believe
Me they will rew't, when with my keen Stile stung,
Through the whole town they shall in pomp be sung.
[tr. Fanshawe; ed. Brome (1666)]

Let none hurt Peaceful Me with envious Tongue,
For if he does, He shall repent the wrong:
The warning's fair, his Vices shall be shown,
And Life expos'd to all the Cens'ring Town.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

But who provokes me, or attacks my fame,
"Better not touch me, friend," I loud exclaim,
His eyes shall weep the folly of his tongue.
By laughing crowds in rueful ballad sung.
[tr. Francis (1747)]

But that man who shall provoke me (I give notice, that it is better not to touch me) shall weep [his folly], and as a notorious character shall be sung through all the streets of Rome.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

But he who shall have once provoked me -- 'twill be better that he touch me not, I cry -- shall rue it, and, become notorious, shall be the theme of jest, through all the town.
[tr. Millington (1870)]

But should one seek
To quarrel with me, you shall hear him shriek:
Don't say I gave no warning: up and down
He shall be trolled and chorused through the town.
[tr. Conington (1874)]

But if one stir me up ("Better not touch me!" I shout), he shall smart for it and have his name sung up and down the town.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]

But the man who provokes me will weep (HANDS OFF! I WARN YOU)
and his name will be widely rehearsed all over town.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

But any guy
who gives me any trouble (my motto is “Hands off!”)
will become a tearful celebrity, sung about all over town.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]

But attack -- it’s better not to, believe me -- and live
To regret it, your name paraded all over Rome!
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

But he who attacks me (O I warn you!
keep your hands to yourself!)
will have cause enough for weeping.
He will be pointed out and ridiculed
by everyone in Rome.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

"Hands off" is my motto:
anybody who gives me any trouble, he'll be
swiftly famous for his pain and snuffling.
[tr. Matthews (2002)]

But whoever stirs me up (better keep your distance, I’m telling you!)
will be sorry; he’ll become a thing of derision throughout the city.
[tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

But he
Who provokes me (better not touch, I cry!) will suffer,
And his blemishes will be sung throughout the City.
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Jefferson, Thomas -- Letter (1816-07-30) to Francis Adrian Van der Kemp

Dave — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:08:26 +0000

Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the Trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter (1816-07-30) to Francis Adrian Van der Kemp
(Source)

Havel, Vaclav -- Disturbing the Peace, ch. 2 “Writing for the Stage” (1986) [tr. Wilson (1990)]

Dave — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:50:29 +0000

Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.

Václav Havel (1936-2011) Czech playwright, essayist, dissident, politician
Disturbing the Peace, ch. 2 “Writing for the Stage” (1986) [tr. Wilson (1990)]
(Source)

Goethe, Johann von -- Elective Affinities [Die Wahlverwandtschaften], Part 2, ch. 4, “From Ottilie’s Journal [Aus Ottiliens Tagebuche]” (1809) [tr. Hollingdale (1971)]

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

Human beings reveal their character most clearly by what they find ridiculous.

[Durch nichts bezeichnen die Menschen mehr ihren Charakter als durch das, was sie lächerlich finden.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Elective Affinities [Die Wahlverwandtschaften], Part 2, ch. 4, “From Ottilie’s Journal [Aus Ottiliens Tagebuche]” (1809) [tr. Hollingdale (1971)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

There is nothing in which people more betray their character than in what they find to laugh at.
[Niles ed. (1872)]

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.
[Source]

For an opposite perspective, see Lichtenberg.

Repplier, Agnes -- “A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)

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

Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their pedestals.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)
(Source)

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶134 (1665-1678) [tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

We are never so ridiculous through what we are as through what we pretend to be.

[On n’est jamais si ridicule par les qualités que l’on a que par celles que l’on affecte d’avoir.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶134 (1665-1678) [tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]
(Source)

Present in the 1st (1665) edition.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The Qualities a man really hath, make him not so ridiculous as those which out of pure affectation he pretends to have.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶15]

Men become Ridiculous, not so much for the Qualities they have, as those they would be thought to have, when they really have them not.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶135]

We are never made so ridiculous by the qualities we have, as by those we affect to have.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶22; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶130]

Never are we made so ridiculous; by the qualities we have, as by those we affect to have.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶19]

We are never so ridiculous from the qualities we have, as from those we affect to have.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶137]

We are never so ridiculous from the habits we have as from those that we affect to have.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶134]

Our true qualities never make us as ridiculous as those we affect.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶134]

Our real qualities never excite such ridicule as those we pretend to possess.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶134]

We are never so ridiculous for the qualities we have as for those we pretend to.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶134]

We are never so ridiculous through qualities we have as through those we pretend to have.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶134]

One is never as ridiculous with the qualities one has, as with those one affects to have. [tr. Siniscalchi (c. 1994)]

We are never so ridiculous in our personal qualities, as in those which we pretend to have.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶134]