Jean de la Bruyere Quotes About Wit
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Wit is the god of moments, but Genius is the god of ages.
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It is a sad thing when men have neither enough intelligence to speak well nor enough sense to hold their tongues; this is the root of all impertinence.
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The Great slight the men of wit, who have nothing but wit; the men of wit despise the Great, who have nothing but greatness; the good man pities them both, if with greatness or wit they have not virtue.
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I never have wit until I am below stairs. [Fr., Je n'ai jamais d'esprit qu'au bas de l'escalier.]
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Mockery is often the result of a poverty of wit.
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The great charm of conversation consists less in the display of one's own wit and intelligence than in the power to draw forth the resources of others.
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The best thing next to wit is a consciousness that it is not in us; without wit, a man might then know how to behave himself, so as not to appear to be a fool or a coxcomb.
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It is a great misfortune not to possess sufficient wit to speak well, nor sufficient judgment to keep silent.
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Foolish jokers are thick on the ground, and it rains insects of that sort everywhere. A good joker is a rarity; even a man who is such by nature finds it hard to sustain the part for long; it seldom happens that the man who makes us laugh wins our esteem.
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Criticism is often not a science; it is a craft, requiring more good health than wit, more hard work than talent, more habit than native genius. In the hands of a man who has read widely but lacks judgment, applied to certain subjects it can corrupt both its readers and the writer himself.
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One should never risk a joke, even of the mildest and most unexceptional charters, except among people of culture and wit.
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Criticism is as often a trade as a science, requiring, as it does, more health than wit, more labour than capacity, more practice than genius.
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How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face or a fine hand does in a minute!
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A man often runs the risk of throwing away a witticism if he admits that it is his own.
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It is a great misfortune neither to have enough wit to talk well nor enough judgment to be silent.
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Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author.
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