The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Francois De La RochefoucauldRead
When we disclaim praise, it is only showing our desire to be praised a second time.
Interpretation
Disclaiming praise often reveals a hidden desire for more recognition.
This quote reflects on the nature of human behavior regarding praise and recognition. When individuals downplay compliments or praise they receive, it often stems from an underlying desire for further validation, indicating that the act of modesty may not be as selfless as it seems. It suggests a complex interplay between ego and humility in social interactions.
In practice
In a motivational speech, to highlight the importance of recognizing one's achievements.
The generality of virtuous women are like hidden treasures, they are safe only because nobody has sought after them.
Old men delight in giving good advice as a consolation for the fact that they can no longer set bad examples.
Some counterfeits reproduce so very well the truth that it would be a flaw of judgment not to be deceived by them.
Conceit causes more conversation than wit.
The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind, and they are in continual danger of breaking the skin and bursting out again.
To understand matters rightly we should understand their details; and as that knowledge is almost infinite, our knowledge is always superficial and imperfect.
Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first & we lose both first and second things.
The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning.
Here they learned to Wait. To Watch. To think thoughts and not voice them.
Sometimes it's difficult to accept, to recognise one's own mistakes, but one must do it. I was guilty of overconfidence and arrogance, and I was punished for that.
An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.
What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power can easily destroy.
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