Should Quotes by Jean de la Bruyere

17 Should quotes by Jean de la Bruyere

All Should quotes Jean de la Bruyere’s page

Jean de la Bruyere delivers 17 elegant musings on obligation, each tinged with his signature wit. His reflections, rooted in early modern thought, illuminate the paradoxes of social expectation while maintaining a playful, literary charm.

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One should never risk a joke, even of the mildest and most unexceptional charters, except among people of culture and wit.

Jean de la Bruyere

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We should laugh before being happy, for fear of dying without having laughed.

Jean de la Bruyere

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It is virtue which should determine us in the choice of our friends, without inquiring into their good or evil fortune.

Jean de la Bruyere

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Politeness makes one appear outwardly as they should be within.

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We should only endeavour to think and speak correctly ourselves, without wishing to bring others over to our taste and opinions.

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High birth is a gift of fortune which should never challenge esteem towards those who receive it, since it costs them neither…

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We should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while…

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Politeness does not always inspire goodness, equity, complaisance, and gratitude; it gives at least the appearance of these qualities, and makes man…

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For a woman to be at once a coquette and a bigot is more than the humblest of husbands can bear; she…

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It would be a kind of ferocity to reject indifferently all sorts of praise. One should be glad to have that which…

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It is too much for a husband to have a wife who is a coquette and sanctimonious as well; she should select…

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We should like those whom we love to receive all their happiness, or, if this were impossible, all their unhappiness from our…

Jean de la Bruyere

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That man is good who does good to others; if he suffers on account of the good he does, he is very…

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There exist some evils so terrible and some misfortunes so horrible that we dare not think of them, whilst their very aspect…

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I am not surprised that men who put their trust in an atom should fail in their slightest attempts to plumb truth,…

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He who only writes to suit the taste of the age, considers himself more than his writings. We should always aim at…

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Great things only require to be simply told, for they are spoiled by emphasis; but little things should be clothed in lofty…

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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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