Honore de Balzac Quotes
Quotes to Explore
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A ruler makes use of the majority and neglects the minority, and so he does not devote himself to virtue but to law.
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Compassion is not a popular virtue.
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A virtue to be serviceable must, like gold, be alloyed with some commoner, but more durable alloy.
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Skepticism is a virtue in history as well as in philosophy.
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To every object there correspond an ideally closed system of truths that are true of it and, on the other hand, an ideal system of possible cognitive processes by virtue of which the object and the truths about it would be given to any cognitive subject.
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Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.
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Virtue has a veil, vice a mask.
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Happiness is a virtue, not its reward.
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Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.
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Virtue consists, not in abstaining from vice, but in not desiring it.
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Self-denial is not a virtue: it is only the effect of prudence on rascality.
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You cannot lift others to virtue on the one hand if you are entertaining vice on the other.
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Virtue consists in doing our duty in the several relations we sustain, in respect to ourselves, to our fellowmen, and to God, as known from reason, conscience, and revelation.
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Opportunity often comes in disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.
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There is explosive power in virtue.
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Teaching and research are not to be confused with training for a profession. Their greatness and their misfortune is that they are a refuge or a mission.
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There is that in the soul of man which must respond to the highest in virtue. It may not respond at once. Human nature can easily be over-faced by examples too remote and austere. Moreover, human nature can easily deny God because the whole race has long been in rebellion against Him. Yet there is that in human nature which calls out to the supreme examples of virtue: owns, as it were, the intention of God who made it, and feels the unmistakable homesickness of the soul.
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Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the old Christian rule is, "Either marriage, with completely faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence."
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There is no greater misfortune in the world than the loss of reason.
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Indeed, until one tries it for himself, it is incredible what dignity there is in an old hat, what virtue in a time-worn coat, and how savory the dinner-table can be made without sirloin steaks and cranberry tarts.
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Our society is illuminated by the spiritual insights of the Hebrew prophets. America and Israel have a common love of human freedom, and they have a common faith in a democratic way of life.
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Great minds always tend to see virtue in misfortune.
