Of Rhetoric various definitions have been given by different writers; who, however, seem not so much to have disagreed in their conceptions of the nature of the same thing, as to have had different things in view while they employed the same term. Richard Whately More Quotes by Richard Whately More Quotes From Richard Whately Though not always called upon to condemn ourselves, it is always safe to suspect ourselves. Richard Whately self-examination suspects safe As hardly anything can accidentally touch the soft clay without stamping its mark on it, so hardly any reading can interest a child, without contributing in some degree, though the book itself be afterwards totally forgotten, to form the character. Richard Whately reading book children It is an awful, an appalling thought, that we may be, this moment and every moment, in the presence of malignant spirits. Richard Whately awful spirit may Not in books only, nor yet in oral discourse, but often also in words there are boundless stores of moral and historic truth, and no less of passion and imagination laid up, from which lessons of infinite worth may be derived. Richard Whately passion imagination book Do you want to know the man against whom you have most reason to guard yourself? Your looking-glass will give you a very fair likeness of his face. Richard Whately glasses self men Even supposing there were some spiritual advantage in celibacy, it ought to be completely voluntary. Richard Whately celibacy advantage spiritual As the telescope is not a substitute for, but an aid to, our sight, so revelation is not designed to supersede the use of reason, but to supply its deficiencies. Richard Whately use sight bible Better too much form than too little. Richard Whately too-much littles manners He that is not open to conviction is not qualified for discussion. Richard Whately discussion argument conviction Ethical maxims are bandied about as a sort of current coin of discourse, and, being never melted down for use, those that are of base metal are never detected. Richard Whately ethical coins use Anger requires that the offender should not only be made to grieve in his turn, but to grieve for that particular wrong which has been done by him. Richard Whately anger done grieving The Eastern monarch who proclaimed a reward to him who should discover a new pleasure, would have deserved well of mankind had he stipulated that it should be blameless. Richard Whately rewards pleasure should It is a remarkable circumstance in reference to cunning persons that they are often deficient not only in comprehensive, far-sighted wisdom, but even in prudent, cautious circumspection. Richard Whately prudent remarkable circumstances Men first make up their minds (and the smaller the mind the sooner made up), and then seek for the reasons; and if they chance to stumble upon a good reason, of course they do not reject it. But though they are right, they are only right by chance. Richard Whately decision mind men Good manners are a part of good morals. Richard Whately good-man moral manners It may be worth noticing as a curious circumstance, when persons past forty before they were at all acquainted form together a very close intimacy of friendship. For grafts of old wood to take, there must be a wonderful congeniality between the trees. Richard Whately tree friendship past Christianity, contrasted with the Jewish system of emblems, is truth in the sense of reality, as substance is opposed to shadows, and, contrasted with heathen mythology, is truth as opposed to falsehood. Richard Whately shadow substance reality It is a good plan, with a young person of a character to be much affected by ludicrous and absurd representations, to show him plainly by examples that there is nothing which may not be thus represented. He will hardly need to be told that everything is not a mere joke. Richard Whately example character needs Man, considered not merely as an organized being, but as a rational agent and a member of society, is perhaps the most wonderfully contrived, and to us the most interesting specimen of Divine wisdom that we have any knowledge of. Richard Whately divine-wisdom men interesting Some men's reputation seems like seed-wheat, which thrives best when brought from a distance. Richard Whately wheat distance men