When in reading we meet with any maxim that may be of use, we should take it for our own, and make an immediate application of it, as we would of the advice of a friend whom we have purposely consulted. Charles Caleb Colton More Quotes by Charles Caleb Colton More Quotes From Charles Caleb Colton The brightest thunder-bolt is elicited from the darkest storm. Charles Caleb Colton thunder calamity storm Men of strong minds and who think for themselves, should not be discouraged on finding occasionally that some of their best ideas have been anticipated by former writers; they will neither anathematize others nor despair themselves. They will rather go on discovering things before discovered, until they are rewarded with a land hitherto unknown, an empire indisputably their own, both right of conquest and of discovery. Charles Caleb Colton strong men thinking It is better to have wisdom without learning than learning without wisdom. Charles Caleb Colton Temperate men drink the most, because they drink the longest. Charles Caleb Colton drink men The wealth is ultimately just a relative thing. As a person with little money and little more needs to rich guys money but really wishes Charles Caleb Colton guy wish needs Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice. Charles Caleb Colton boredom ennui made Perfection doesn't exist... only good attempts. Charles Caleb Colton wisdom perfection Words indeed are but the signs and counters of knowledge, and their currency should be strictly regulated by the capital which they represent. Charles Caleb Colton currency should Some authors write nonsense in a clear style, and others sense in an obscure one; some can reason without being able to persuade, others can persuade without being able to reason; some dive so deep that they descend into darkness, and others soar so high that they give us no light; and some, in a vain attempt to be cutting and dry, give us only that which is cut and dried. We should labor, therefore, to treat with ease of things that are difficult; with familiarity, of things that are novel; and with perspicuity, of things that are profound. Charles Caleb Colton cutting light writing Style is indeed the valet of genius, and an able one too; but as the true gentleman will appear, even in rags, so true genius will shine, even through the coarsest style. Charles Caleb Colton style gentleman shining When I meet with any persons who write obscurely or converse confusedly, I am apt to suspect two things; first, that such persons do not understand themselves; and secondly, that they are not worthy of being understood by others. Charles Caleb Colton style writing two Subtlety will sometimes give safety, no less than strength; and minuteness has sometimes escaped, where magnitude would have been crushed. The little animal that kills the boa is formidable chiefly from its insignificance, which is incompressible by the folds of its antagonist. Charles Caleb Colton safety animal giving To judge by the event is an error all commit: for in every instance courage, if crowned with success, is heroism; if clouded by defeat, temerity. When Nelson fought his battle in the Sound, it was the result alone that decided whether he was to kiss a hand at court or a rod at a court-martial. Charles Caleb Colton kissing errors success All preceptors should have that kind of genius described by Tacitus, "equal to their business, but not above it;" a patient industry, with competent erudition; a mind depending more on its correctness than its originality, and on its memory rather than on its invention. Charles Caleb Colton teaching should-have memories We are ruined, not by what we really want, but by what we think we do; therefore never go abroad in search of your wants; if they be real wants, they will come home in search of you; for he that buys what he does not want, will soon want what he cannot buy. Charles Caleb Colton real home thinking A wise minister would rather preserve peace than gain a victory, because he knows that even the most successful war leaves nations generally more poor, always more profligate, than it found them. Charles Caleb Colton successful wise war Wars are to the body politic, what drams are to the individual. There are times when they may prevent a sudden death, but if frequently resorted to, or long persisted in, they heighten the energies only to hasten the dissolution. Charles Caleb Colton energy war long Men pursue riches under the idea that their possession will set them at ease, and above the world. But the law of association often makes those who begin by loving gold as a servant finish by becoming themselves its slaves; and independence without wealth is at least as common as wealth without independence. Charles Caleb Colton law men ideas Wit in women is a jewel, which, unlike all others, borrows lustre from its setting, rather than bestows it; since nothing is so easy as to fancy a very beautiful woman extremely witty. Charles Caleb Colton jewels witty beautiful Pleasure is to women what the sun is to the flower; if moderately enjoyed, it beautifies, it refreshes, and it improves; if immoderately, it withers, deteriorates and destroys. Charles Caleb Colton women flower sun
