Jean de La Bruyère

“Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.”

“Liberality consists less in giving a great deal than in giving seasonably.”

“We seldom repent of speaking little, very often of speaking too much.”

“The same common sense which makes one person a good critic makes another a good writer.”

“Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think.”

“We are afraid of old age, and we are not sure of living to it.”

“The pleasure of criticizing takes away from us the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things.”

“It is a great misfortune to have just enough intelligence to see that we are not as intelligent as we ought to be.”

“The slave has but one master; the ambitious man has as many masters as there are persons whose aid may contribute to the advancement of his fortune.”

“A man is rich whose income is larger than his expenses, and he is poor if his expenses are greater than his income.”

“There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, public speaking.”

“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”

“He who is unable to live in society is either a beast or a god.”

“We must laugh before we are happy, for fear of dying without having laughed at all.”