Jean de la Bruyere

“Liberality consists less in giving a great deal than in gifts well-timed.”

“One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.”

“Grief at the absence of a loved one is happiness compared to life with a person one hates.”

“The passion of hatred is so long lived and so obstinate a malady that the surest sign of death in a sick person is their desire for reconciliation.”

“When a book raises your spirit, and inspires you with noble and manly thoughts, seek for no other test of its excellence. It is good, and made by a good workman.”

“The court is like a palace of marble; it's composed of people very hard and very polished.”

“Next to sound judgment, diamonds and pearls are the rarest things in the world.”

“The regeneration of society is the regeneration of society by individual education.”

“It is a sad thing when men have neither the wit to speak well nor the judgment to hold their tongues.”

“One mark of a second-rate mind is to be always telling stories.”

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

“He who tip-toes cannot stand; he who strides cannot walk.”

“The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love.”

“All of our unhappiness comes from our inability to be alone.”

“Time makes friendship stronger, but love weaker.”

“The wise person often shuns society for fear of being bored.”