Joseph Joubert
France
7 May 1754 // 4 May 1824
Moralist / Essayist
7 May 1754 // 4 May 1824
Moralist / Essayist
Quotes
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If fortune wishes to make a man estimable, she gives him virtues; if she wishes to make him esteemed, she gives him success
How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?
He who cannot see the beautiful side is a bad painter, a bad friend, a bad lover; he cannot lift his mind and his heart so high as goodness
Grace is in garments, in movements, in manners; beauty in the nude, and in forms. This is true of bodies; but when we speak of feelings, beauty is in their spirituality, and grace in their moderation
Grace imitates modesty, as politeness imitates kindness
Forms of government become established of themselves. They shape themselves, they are not created. We may give them strength and consistency, but we cannot call them into being. Let us rest assured that the form of government can never be a matter of choice: it is almost always a matter of necessity
Fear loves the idea of danger
Every legitimate authority should respect its extent and its limits
Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary
Children must be rendered reasonable, but not reasoners. The first thing to teach them is that it is reasonable for them to obey, and unreasonable for them to dispute
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays