William Hazlitt

The perceiving our own weaknesses enables us to give others excellent advice, but it does not teach us to to reform ourselves.

THE rule for travelling abroad is to take our common sense with us, and leave our prejudices behind us. The object of travelling is to see and learn; but such is our impatience of ignorance, or the jealousy of our self-love, that we generally set up a certain preconception beforehand (in self-defence, or as a barrier against the lessons of experience,) and are surprised at or quarrel with all that does not conform to it. Let us think what we please of what we really find, but pr

I am not, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, a good-natured man; that is, many things annoy me besides what interferes with my own ease and interest. I hate a lie; a piece of injustice wounds me to the quick, though nothing but the report of it reach me. Therefore I have made many enemies and few friends; for the public know nothing of well-wishers, and keep a wary eye on those who would reform them.

The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of a hypocrite is itself hypocrisy.

Words are the only things that last for ever.

The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.

The world dread nothing so much as being convinced of their errors.

He will never have true friends who is afraid of making enemies.

Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our

The path of genius is free, and its own

the old maxim... "there are three things necessary to success in life--Impudence! Impudence! Impudence!

Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust; hatred alone is immortal.

Reflection makes men cowards.

Poetry is all that is worth remembering in life.

Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself. He who has a contempt for poetry, cannot have much respect for himself, or for anything else.

To think ill of mankind and not wish ill to them, is perhaps the highest wisdom and virtue.

The more we do, the more we can do.

There are no rules for friendship. It must be left to itself. We cannot force it any more than love.