will never repay it; tact throws away no pains, but catches the passions of the passing hour. Talent builds for eternity; tact for a short lease, and gets good interest. Anon. ("Atlas.") OBSTACLES. The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, becomes a steppingstone in the pathway of the strong. Carlyle. PROGRESS. Es soll nicht genügen daß man Schritte thue die einst zum Ziele führen, sondern jeder Schritt soll Biel sein. FLATTERY. Goethe. La flatterie est une fausse monnaie qui n'a cours que par notre vanité. La Rochefoucauld FLATTERY. Flattery is often a traffic of mutual meanness, where, although both parties intend deception, neither is deceived. FLATTERY. Colton. On croit quelquefois haïr la flatterie; mais on que la manière de flatter. ne hait La Rochefoucauld. FLATTERY AND DEFAMATION. "I resolve," says Bishop Beveridge, "never to speak of a man's virtues before his face; nor of his faults behind his back;" a golden rule! the observation of which would, at one stroke, banish flattery and defamation from the earth. Bishop Horne. A LIE. Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. O. W. Holmes FALSEHOOD. Je mehr Schwäche je mehr Lüge; die Kraft geht gerade; jede Kanonenkugel, die Höhlen oder Gruben hat, geht krumm. Schwächlinge müssen lügen. Jean Paul Richter. PRAISING THE GREAT.* On loue les grands pour marquer qu'on les voit de près, rarement par estime ou par gratitude. La Bruyère. PRAISING PRINCES FALSELY. Louer des princes des vertus qu'ils n'ont pas, c'est leur dire impunément des injures. Rochefoucauld FRIENDSHIP. There are few subjects which have been more written upon, and less understood, than that of friendship. To follow the dictates of some, this * Rather, Grand People. virtue instead of being the assuager of pain becomes the source of every inconvenience. Such speculatists, by expecting too much from friendship dissolve the connexion, and by drawing the bands too closely at length break them. It is certain that the best method to cultivate this virtue, is by letting it, in some measure, make itself; a similitude of minds and of studies, and even sometimes a diversity of pursuits, will produce all the pleasures that arise from it. The current of tenderness widens as it proceeds; and two men imperceptibly find their hearts filled with good nature for each other, when they were at first only in pursuit of mirth or relaxation. FRIENDS. Goldsmith. Friends are a man's self in fractions; he that admits every one into the number of them prostitutes his soul to all comers; he who none, denies her one of the best comforts she can here enjoy. Bishop Hall. WOMAN. La femme est une fleur qui ne donne son parfum qu'à l'ombre. Lamennais. FRIENDSHIP AND FRIENDS. How many men have lacked friendship rather than friends. Seneca. FRIENDSHIPS. Ce qui nous rend si changeants dans nos amitiés, c'est qu'il est difficile de connaître les qualités de l'âme, et facile de connaître celles de l'esprit. La Rochefoucauld. |