Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
William HazlittRead
The love of fame is almost another name for the love of excellence; or it is the ambition to attain the highest excellence, sanctioned by the highest authority, that of time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The desire for fame is closely tied to the pursuit of excellence and recognition over time.
In this quote, Hazlitt suggests that the yearning for fame is fundamentally linked to a desire for excellence. He argues that this ambition is validated by time, indicating that true excellence is acknowledged and appreciated in the long run, beyond mere fleeting recognition.
Themes
FameExcellenceAmbitionRecognitionTime
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a graduation speech to inspire students to pursue excellence.
More from William Hazlitt
All quotes →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.
William HazlittRead
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
William HazlittRead
We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
William HazlittRead
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
William HazlittRead
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
William HazlittRead
Similar quotes
O what a heaven is love! O what a hell!
Thomas DekkerRead
This is how moths speak to each other. They tell their love across the fields by scent. There is no mouth, the wrong words are impossible, either a mate is there or he is not, and if so the pair will find each other in the dark.
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Love, in the sense of spontaneous, unreflective action, spells the death of the old man.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
In the dime stores and bus stations People talk of situations Read books, repeat quotations Draw conclusions on the wall Some speak of the future My love she speaks softly She knows there’s no success like failure And that failure’s no success at all -Bob Dylan, “Love Minus Zero / No Limit” (1965)
Bob DylanRead
If you do not know how to take care of yourself, and the violence in you, then you will not be able to take care of others. You must have love and patience before you can truly listen to your partner or child. If you are irritated you cannot listen. You have to know how to breath mindfully, embrace your irritation and transform it. Offer ONLY understand and compassion to your partner or child - This is the true practice of love.
Nhat HanhRead
Love was the key to understanding all of the mysteries.
Paulo CoelhoRead