...greatness sympathises with greatness, and littleness shrinks into itself. William Hazlitt More Quotes by William Hazlitt More Quotes From William Hazlitt Violent antipathies are always suspicious, and betray a secret affinity. William Hazlitt violentbetrayalsecret Do not keep on with a mockery of friendship after the substance is gone - but part, while you can part friends. Bury the carcass of friendship: it is not worth embalming. William Hazlitt substancegonefriendship It is only necessary to raise a bugbear before the English imagination in order to govern it at will. Whatever they hate or fear, they implicitly believe in, merely from the scope it gives to these passions. William Hazlitt passionhatebelieve People try to reconcile you to a disappointment in love by asking why you should cherish a passion for an object that has proved itself worthless. Had you known this before, you would not have encouraged the passion; but that having been once formed, knowledge does not destroy it. If we have drank poison, finding it out does not prevent its being in our veins: so passion leaves its poison in the mind! William Hazlitt passiondisappointmentlove A great mind is one that can forget or look beyond itself. William Hazlitt mindforgetlooks We had rather do anything than acknowledge the merit of another if we can help it. We cannot bear a superior or an equal. Hence ridicule is sure to prevail over truth, for the malice of mankind, thrown into the scale, gives the casting weight. William Hazlitt envyweightgiving We are never so much disposed to quarrel with others as when we are dissatisfied with ourselves. William Hazlitt dissatisfiedquarrelspositive-thinking We are fonder of visiting our friends in health than in sickness. We judge less favorably of their characters when any misfortune happens to them; and a lucky hit, either in business or reputation, improves even their personal appearance in our eyes. William Hazlitt eyejudgingcharacter Perhaps the best cure for the fear of death is to reflect that life has a beginning as well as an end. There was a time when we were not: this gives us no concern. Why, then, should it trouble us that a time will come when we shall cease to be? William Hazlitt troublegivingdeath We do not die wholly at our deaths: we have mouldered away gradually long before. Faculty after faculty, interest after interest, attachment after attachment disappear: we are torn from ourselves while living. William Hazlitt attachmentagelong When I take up a book I have read before, I know what to expect; the satisfaction is not lessened by being anticipated. I shake hands with, and look our old tried and valued friend in the face,--compare notes and chat the hour away. William Hazlitt readingbookhands If you think you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary to victory. William Hazlitt faithwinningwar The multitude who require to be led, still hate their leaders. William Hazlitt stillshateleadership With women, the great business of life is love; and they generally make a mistake in it. They consult neither the heart nor the head, but are led away by mere humour and fancy. If instead of a companion for life, they had to choose a partner in a country-dance or to trifle away an hour with, their mode of calculation would be right. They tie their true-lover's knot with idle, thoughtless haste, while the institutions of society render it indissoluble. William Hazlitt womenmistakecountry Do not quarrel with the world too soon; for, bad as it may be, it is the best we have to live in, here. If railing would have made it better, it would have been reformed long ago. William Hazlitt long-agomayworld The ignorance of the world leaves one at the mercy of its malice. William Hazlitt wickednessignoranceevil A man knows his companion in a long journey and a little inn. William Hazlitt journeymenlong Our lives are ruled by impermanence. The challenge is how to create something of enduring value within the context of our impermanent lives. Soka Gakkai William Hazlitt impermanencepracticechallenges A man's reputation is not in his own keeping, but lies at the mercy of the profligacy of others. Calumny requires no proof. The throwing out [of] malicious imputations against any character leaves a stain, which no after-refutation can wipe out. To create an unfavorable impression, it is not necessary that certain things should be true, but that they have been said. The imagination is of so delicate a texture that even words wound it. William Hazlitt charactermenlying We find many things to which the prohibition of them constitutes the only temptation. William Hazlitt libertarianlibertytemptation
