It is not enough that your designs, nay that your actions, are intrinsically good, you must take care they shall appear so.
Henry FieldingRead
It is well known to all great men, that by conferring an obligation they do not always procure a friend, but are certain of creating many enemies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Doing favors for others doesn't guarantee friendship and may lead to resentment.
This quote by Henry Fielding highlights the complex nature of human relationships, emphasizing that offering help or doing good deeds may not always lead to positive outcomes, such as friendship. Instead, it can result in enmity or resentment, as people may feel indebted or discontented, illustrating the delicate balance of social interactions and the consequences of our actions.
Themes
ObligationFriendshipEnemiesRelationshipsActions
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about the challenges of helping friends, one might cite this quote to illustrate the potential risks involved.
More from Henry Fielding
All quotes βLet no man be sorry he has done good, because others concerned with him have done evil! If a man has acted right, he has done well, though along; if wrong, the sanction of all mankind will not justify him.
Henry FieldingRead
A newspaper consists of just the same number of words, whether there be any news in it or not.
Henry FieldingRead
He grew weary of this condescension, and began to treat the opinions of his wife with that haughtiuess and insolence, which none but those who deserve some contempt themselves can bestow, and those only who deserve no contempt can bear.
Henry FieldingRead
Now in reality, the world has paid too great a compliment to critics, and has imagined them to be men of much greater profundity than they really are.
Henry FieldingRead
It is much easier to make good men wise, than to make bad men good.
Henry FieldingRead
Similar quotes
But I've grown thoughtful now. And you have lost Your early-morning freshness of surprise At being so utterly mine: you've learned to fear The gloomy, stricken places in my soul, And the occasional ghosts that haunt my gaze.
Siegfried SassoonRead
When you meet somebody for the first time, you're not meeting them. You're meeting their representative.
Chris RockRead
Creative people don't behave very well generally. If you're looking for examples of good relationships in show business, you're gonna be depressed real fast. I don't have time for anything else right now but work and my daughter. She's my first priority.
Jim CarreyRead
When I have attempted to join myself to others by services, it proved an intellectual trick,-no more. They eat your service like apples, and leave you out. But love them, and they feel you, and delight in you all the time.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
There are a hundred places where I fear To go, --so with his memory they brim! And entering with relief some quiet place Where never fell his foot or shone his face I say, 'There is no memory of him here!' And so stand stricken, so remembering him!
Edna St. Vincent MillayRead
If people could see me the way I see myself - if they could live in my memories - would anyone love me?
John GreenRead