Truth, wisdom, love, seek reasons; malice only seeks causes. Johann Kaspar Lavater More Quotes by Johann Kaspar Lavater More Quotes From Johann Kaspar Lavater No communication or gift can exhaust genius or impoverish charity. Johann Kaspar Lavater charity communication genius A single spark of occasion discharges the child of passions into a thousand crackers of desire. Johann Kaspar Lavater passion desire children He who, silent, loves to be with us - he who loves us in our silence - has touched one of the keys that ravish hearts. Johann Kaspar Lavater silence keys heart Malice is poisoned by her own venom. Johann Kaspar Lavater venom malice The more uniform a man's voice, step, manner of conversation, handwriting--the more quiet, uniform, settled, his actions, his character. Johann Kaspar Lavater voice character men And still, laughter is akin to weeping. Johann Kaspar Lavater weeping laughter stills Neither refinement nor delicacy is indispensable to produce elegance. Johann Kaspar Lavater delicacy produce elegance Let the degree of egotism be the measure of confidence. Johann Kaspar Lavater egotism degrees Desire is the uneasiness a man finds in himself upon the absence of anything whose present enjoyment carries the idea of delight with it. Johann Kaspar Lavater desire men ideas There is a manner of forgiveness so divine that you are ready to embrace the offender for having called it forth. Johann Kaspar Lavater embrace forgiveness divine The creditor whose appearance gladdens the heart of a debtor may hold his head in sunbeams and his foot on storms. Johann Kaspar Lavater storm feet heart Those who speak always and those who never speak are equally unfit for friendship. A food proportion of the talent of listening and speaking is the base of social virtues. Johann Kaspar Lavater talent speak listening The conscience is more wise than science. Johann Kaspar Lavater conscience wise The more any one speaks of himself, the less he likes to hear another talked of. Johann Kaspar Lavater conceit likes speak She whom smiles and tears make equally lovely may command all hearts. Johann Kaspar Lavater lovely tears heart The enemy of art is the enemy of nature; art is nothing but the highest sagacity and exertion of human nature; and what nature will he honour who honours not the human? Johann Kaspar Lavater honor enemy art He who comes from the kitchen, smells of its smoke; and he who adheres to a sect, has something of its cant; the college air pursues the student; and dry inhumanity him who herds with literary pedants. Johann Kaspar Lavater smell college air Nothing is so pregnant as cruelty; so multifarious, so rapid, so ever teeming a mother is unknown to the animal kingdom; each of her experiments provokes another and refines upon the last; though always progressive, yet always remote from the end. Johann Kaspar Lavater cuckoos mother animal A gift--its kind, its value and appearance; the silence or the pomp that attends it; the style in which it reaches you--may decide the dignity or vulgarity of the giver. Johann Kaspar Lavater style silence may Whatever obscurities may involve religious tenets, humility and love constitute the essence of true religion; the humble is formed to adore, the loving to associate with eternal love. Johann Kaspar Lavater humility religious humble