Greatness Quotes by Jean de la Bruyere

19 Greatness quotes by Jean de la Bruyere

All Greatness quotes Jean de la Bruyere’s page

Jean de la Bruyere’s 19 lines deliver a sharp, often humorous take on greatness. His French‑flavored prose invites readers to contemplate ambition through a lens of clever irony.

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Eminent station makes great men more great, and little ones less.

Jean de la Bruyere

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It's motive alone that gives character to the actions of men

Jean De La Bruyere

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A man without characteristics is a most insipid character.

Jean de la Bruyere

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It's motive alone which gives character to the actions of men.

Jean de la Bruyere

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Every man is valued in this world as he shows by his conduct that he wishes to be valued.

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A man must be very inert to have no character at all.

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Lofty posts make great men greater still, and small men much smaller.

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There is nothing men are so anxious to keep, and yet are so careless about, as life.

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Even the best intentioned of great men need a few scoundrels around them; there are some things you cannot ask an honest…

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Rarely do they appear great before their valets. [Fr., Rarement ils sont grands vis-a-vis de leur valets-de-chambre.]

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It is motive alone that gives real value to the actions of men, and disinterestedness puts the cap to it.

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The nearer we come to great men the more clearly we see that they are only men. They rarely seem great to…

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A man who knows the court is master of his gestures, of his eyes and of his face; he is profound, impenetratable;…

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The Great slight the men of wit, who have nothing but wit; the men of wit despise the Great, who have nothing…

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A man of variable mind is not one man, but several men in one; he multiplies himself as often as he changes…

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False greatness is unsociable and remote: conscious of its own frailty, it hides, or at least averts its face, and reveals itself…

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Rarely do they appear great before their valets.

Jean de la Bruyere

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We see men fall from high estate on account of the very faults through which they attained it

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The nearer we approach great men, the clearer we see that they are men.

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I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…

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The unfaithful woman, if she is known for such by the person concerned, is only unfaithful. If she is thought faithful, she is perfidious.

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What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…

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Some people pretend they never were in love and never wrote poetry; two weaknesses which they dare not own -- one of the heart,…

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How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…

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A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…

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Born merely for the purpose of digestion.

Jean de la Bruyere

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A man of variable mind is not one man, but several men in one; he multiplies himself as often as he changes his taste…

Jean de la Bruyere

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He who knows how to wait for what he desires does not feel very desperate if he fails in obtaining it; and he, on…

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The court is like a palace built of marble; I mean that it is made up of very hard but very polished people. [Fr.,…

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Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and tells you the whole story of…

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Every hour in itself, as it respects us in particular, is the only one we can call our own.

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To express truth is to write naturally, forcibly, and delicately.

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We perceive wen love begins and wen it declines by our embarrassment when alone together.

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I call those men worldly, earthly, or coarse, whose hearts and minds are wholly fixed on this earth, that small part of the universe…

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