An author, when he first appears in the world, is very apt to believe it has nothing to think of but his Performances.
Richard Steele (1672–1729) Anglo-Irish writer, journalist, playwright, politician
Essay (1711-03-05), The Spectator, No. 4
(Source)
Quotations about:
self-focus
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The extreme pleasure we take in talking about ourselves should make us afraid that we are not giving the same pleasure to those who listen to us.
[L’extrême plaisir que nous prenons à parler de nous-mêmes nous doit faire craindre de n’en donner guère à ceux qui nous écoutent.]
François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶314 (1665-1678) [tr. Chandler]
(Source)
Present in the 3rd (1671) edition.
(Source (French)). Other translations:The exceeding delight we take in discoursing about our selves, may well make us suspect, that we allow but very little Pleasure, to them that converse with us.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶314]The excessive pleasure we find in talking about ourselves ought to make us apprehensive that it gives but little to our auditors.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶415; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶289]The excessive pleasure we find in talking of ourselves, should make us apprehensive that we afford little to our auditors.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶353]The extreme pleasure we take in talking of ourselves should make us fear that we give very little to those who listen to us.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶324]The extreme delight we take in talking of ourselves should warn us that it is not shared by those who listen.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶314]The vast pleasure we derive from talking of ourselves should make us suspect that the pleasure of our audience may not be as great.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶321]The keen pleasure we take in talking about ourselves should warn us not to be chary of giving that pleasure to our listeners.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶314]The extreme pleasure we derive from talking about ourselves should warn us that for our audience the pleasure will be almost nil.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶314]The vast pleasure we get from talking about ourselves should warn us that we are giving almost no pleasure to those who are listening.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶314]The extreme enjoyment we find in talking about ourselves should make us fear we are not giving very much to our audience.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶314]The extreme pleasure we take in speaking about ourselves, ought to make us fear that we may be giving scarcely any of it to those who hear us.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶314]
Of course no one is so sensitive as you, but try to remember they think they are.
Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1966)
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The more things a man is interested in, the more opportunities of happiness he has, and the less he is at the mercy of fate, since if he loses one thing he can fall back upon another. Life is too short to be interested in everything, but it is good to be interested in as many things as are necessary to fill our days. We are all prone to the malady of the introvert, who, with the manifold spectacle of the world spread out before him, turns away and gazes only upon the emptiness within.
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 11 “Zest” (1930)
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The least pain in our little finger gives more concern and uneasiness than the destruction of millions of our fellow beings.
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
Essay (1829-10), “American Literature — Dr. Channing,” Edinburgh Review, Vol. 50, No. 99, Art. 7
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