Wisdom quotes and reflections
Updated on How we verify quotes
Moralists have the art of saying a lot in a few words. This page gathers maxims and thoughts verified in their original edition, with the work and the year.
Every quote can be copied, shared or turned into an image.
Contents
Funny
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Inspiring
There are no bad plants and no bad men; there are only bad cultivators.
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)
A heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for any one else.
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
Short
Injustice heralds the ruin of civilization.
Actions speak louder than words.
Good things, if brief, are twice as good.
Well done is better than well said.
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
To be great is to be misunderstood.
There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.
Frequently asked questions
What is a maxim?
A brief formula stating a rule of conduct or an observation about people. La Rochefoucauld published a famous collection of them in 1665.