We ought never to scoff at the wretched, for who can be sure of
continued happiness?
[Fr., Il ne se faut jamais moquer des miserables,
Car qui peut s'assurer d'etre toujours heureux?]
Jean de La Fontaine
Related England really is the birthplace, the heart and soul of football. If Barcelona had Liverpool's f... XAVI Well, Toronto, I consider to be the birthplace of my films. I've made three films and this is th... JASON REITMAN I've been waiting over 40 years to come to Cyprus, and it has not disappointed - the birthplace ... JOE BIDEN Whenever I think of my birthplace, Walton-on-Thames, my reference first and foremost is the river. I... JULIE ANDREWS Attacks on a politician's identity - questioning Romney's religion, say, or Obama's birt... JON MEACHAM The whole world is a man's birthplace. CAECILIUS STATIUS Most people don't know that Congo Square was originally a Muscogee ceremonial ground... in New O... JOY HARJO Home is one's birthplace, ratified by memory. HENRY ANATOLE GRUNWALD Oh, how hard it must be to die anywhere but in one's birthplace. FREDERIC CHOPIN We left my birthplace, Brooklyn, New York, in 1939 when I was 13. I enjoyed the ethnic variety and t... IRWIN ROSE
More Jean de La Fontaine
Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE People who make no noise are dangerous. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE There is no road of flowers leading to glory. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it; nothing is commoner than the name, no... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It is a double pleasure to deceive the deceiver. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Dressed in the lion's skin, the ass spread terror far and wide. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE In short, Luck's always to blame. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE By the work one knows the workman. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing is as dangerous as an ignorant friend; a wise enemy is to be preferred. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A hungry stomach cannot hear. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which increases with the setting sun of life. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE By time and toil we sever
What strength and rage could never.
[Fr., Patience et longueur de te... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing is so dangerous as an ignorant friend; a wise enemy is
worth more.
[Fr., Rien n'est si da... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE To live lightheartedly but not recklessly; to be gay without being boisterous; to be courageous with... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Everyone has his faults which he continually repeats: neither fear nor shame can cure them. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Patience and the passage of time do more than strength and fury. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Help yourself, and Heaven will help you. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE He knows the universe and does not know himself. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Still people are dangerous. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Luck's always to blame. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE In short, luck's always to blame. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Beware, so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Everyone believes very easily whatever they fear or desire. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A pessimist and an optimist, so much the worse; so much the better. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The argument of the strongest is always the best. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE We read on the foreheads of those who are surrounded by a foolish luxury, that fortune sells what sh... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It is twice the pleasure to deceive the deceiver. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing is so dangerous as an ignorant friend. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The fastidious are unfortunate; nothing satisfies them. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Neither wealth or greatness render us happy. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE One returns to the place one came from. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing is more dangerous than a friend without discretion; even a prudent enemy is preferable. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE One often has need of one, inferior to himself. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Every flatterer lives at the expense of him who listens to him. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Every journalist owes tribute to the evil one. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE By the work one knows the workmen. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing weighs on us so heavily as a secret. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Better a living beggar than a buried emperor.
[Fr., Mieux vaut goujat debout qu'empereur enterre.] JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Patience and passage of time do more than strength and fury. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE In my end is my beginning. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE We ought to consider the end in everything.
[Fr., En toute chose il faut considerer la fin.] JEAN DE LA FONTAINE He is very foolish who aims at satisfying all the world and his
father.
[Fr., Est bien fou du cer... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The fastidious are unfortunate: nothing can satisfy them.
[Lat., Les delicats sont malheureux,
... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The reasoning of the strongest is always the best.
[Fr., La raison du plus fort est toujours la me... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Rather suffer than die is man's motto. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Imitators are a slavish herd and fools in my opinion.
[Fr., C'est un betail servile et sot a mon a... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Example is a dangerous lure: where the wasp got through the gnat
sticks fast.
[Fr., L'exemple es... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Patience and time do more than strength or passion. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Sadness flies away on the wings of time. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Be advised that all flatterers live at the expense of those who listen to them. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Better a living beggar than a buried emperor. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Sensible people find nothing useless.
[Fr., Il n'est rien d'inutile aux personnes de sens.] JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing is so oppressive as a secret: women find it difficult to
keep one long; and I know a goodl... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE All roads lead to Rome, but our antagonists think we should
choose different paths.
[Fr., Tous ch... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Rome was not built in a day. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE No flowery road leads to glory.
[Fr., Aucun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.] JEAN DE LA FONTAINE There is no road of flowers leading to glory JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It is said, that the thing you possess is worth more than two you
may have in the future. The one ... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE 'Tis thus we heed no instincts but our own,
Believe no evil, till the evil's done.
[Fr., Nous ... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE We become innocent when we are unfortunate.
[Fr., On devient innocent quand on est malheureux.] JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A fly sat on the chariot wheel
And said "what a dust I raise." JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Nothing is so dangerous as an ignorant friend; A wise enemy is worth more. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE In everything one must consider the end. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Better to rely on one powerful king than on many little princes. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A cheerful mind is a vigorous mind. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE We always take credit for the good and attribute the bad to fortune. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Diversity, that is my motto.
[Fr., Diversite, c'est ma devise.] JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it: nothing is commoner than the name, no... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.
[Fr., Car c'est double plaisir de tromper le trompe... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE One should oblige everyone to the extent of one's ability. One often needs someone smaller than ones... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Thus oft a struggle to escape - But lands us in a still worse scrape JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The sign brings customers JEAN DE LA FONTAINE To win a race, the swiftness of a dart availeth not without a timely start. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Often we find our own destiny on the same roads that we have been avoiding. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE They are too green, he said, and only good for boobies. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A person often meets his destiny in the road he took to avoid it. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE In this world we must help one another. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE I bend but do not break. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It's a double pleasure to trick the trickster. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It is double pleasing to trick the trickster. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE This fellow did not see further than his own nose. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The greatest ass of the three is not the one you would think. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE We believe no evil till the evil's done JEAN DE LA FONTAINE In all matters one must consider the end. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Well, my friend, get me out of danger. You can make your speech afterwards. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The ant is no lender; that is the least of her faults. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Let ignorance talk as it will, learning has its value JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Better a living beggar than a buried emperor JEAN DE LA FONTAINE I bend and do not break JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Dressed in the lion's skin, the ass spread terror far and wide JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Beware so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Everyone has his faults which he continually repeats; neither fear nor shame can cure them JEAN DE LA FONTAINE To live lightheartedly but not recklessly; to be gay without being boisterous; to be courageous with... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Lynx-eyes to our neighbors, and moles to ourselves JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Everyone believes very easily whatever he fears or desires JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Let us not be so difficult; the most accommodating are the cleverest. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE A hungry stomach cannot hear JEAN DE LA FONTAINE There is nothing useless to men of sense JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Help thyself and Heaven will help thee JEAN DE LA FONTAINE One of the secrets of getting more done is to make a TO DO List every day, keep it visible, and use ... JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Patience and passage of time do more than strength and fury. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE It is a double pleasure to deceive the deceiver JEAN DE LA FONTAINE The strongest passion is fear JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which increases with the setting sun of life JEAN DE LA FONTAINE We must laugh before we are happy, for fear we die before we laugh at all. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE But the shortest works are always the best. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Patience and time do more than force and rage. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE People must help one another; it is nature's law. JEAN DE LA FONTAINE Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which strengthens with the setting sun of life. JEAN DE LA LA FONTAINE Beware so long as you live, of judging people by appearances. LA FONTAINE Belgium thinks that however great the peril which a country might have to undergo under the system w... HENRI LA FONTAINE International institutions ought to be, as the national ones in democratic countries, established by... HENRI LA FONTAINE Peoples will be as before, the sheep sent to the slaughterhouses or to the meadows as it pleases the... HENRI LA FONTAINE The first day one is a guest, the second a burden, and the third a pest. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Out of difficulties grow miracles. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE We must laugh before we are happy, for fear of dying without having laughed at all. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE At the beginning and at the end of love, the two lovers are embarrassed to find themselves alone. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Men blush less for their crimes than for their weaknesses and vanity. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE When a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any othe... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Even the best intentioned of great men need a few scoundrels around them; there are some things you ... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Time makes friendship stronger, but love weaker. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE There are certain things in which mediocrity is not to be endured, such as poetry, music, painting, ... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE They that have lived a single day have lived an age. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Poverty may be the mother of crime, but lack of good sense is the father. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE All men's misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Next to sound judgment, diamonds and pearls are the rarest things in the world. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present, which seldom happens to us. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Love and friendship exclude each other. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other's little failings. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE There are only three events in a man's life; birth, life, and death; he is not conscious of bein... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The spendthrift robs his heirs the miser robs himself. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE There are three stages in a person's life, birth, their life and death. They are not conscious of bi... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE If our life is unhappy it is painful to bear; if it is happy it is horrible to lose, So the one is p... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE It requires more than mere genius to be an author. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The regeneration of society is the regeneration of society by individual education. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE If some persons died, and others did not die, death would be a terrible affliction. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Liberality consists less in giving a great deal than in gifts well-timed. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE We must laugh before we are happy, for fear we die before we
laugh at all. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE A heap of epithets is poor praise: the praise lies in the facts, and in the way of telling them. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity. JEAN DE LA BRUYèRE Marriage, it seems, confines every man to his proper rank. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Lofty posts make great men greater still, and small men much smaller. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE One should never risk a joke, even of the mildest and most unexceptional charters, except among peop... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Politeness makes one appear outwardly as they should be within. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Avoid lawsuits beyond all things; they pervert your conscience, impair your health, and dissipate yo... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The court is like a palace of marble; it's composed of people very hard and very polished. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Two persons cannot long be friends if they cannot forgive each other's little failings. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE We can recognize the dawn and the decline of love by the uneasiness we feel when alone together. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE To be among people one loves, that's sufficient; to dream, to speak to them, to be silent among them... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE It's motive alone which gives character to the actions of men. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The wise person often shuns society for fear of being bored. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE If poverty is the mother of crime, lack of good sense is the father. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Children enjoy the present because they have neither a past nor a future. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The giving is the hardest part; what does it cost to add a smile? JEAN DE LA BRUYERE It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE A slave has but one master. An ambition man, has as many as there are people who helped him get his ... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The pleasure we feel in criticizing robs us from being moved by very beautiful things. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Criticism is often not a science; it is a craft, requiring more good health than wit, more hard work... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The passion of hatred is so long lived and so obstinate a malady that the surest sign of death in a ... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE A position of eminence makes a great person greater and a small person less. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE I would not like to see a person who is sober, moderate, chaste and just say that there is no God. T... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Liberality consists less in giving a great deal than in gifts well-timed. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Outward simplicity befits ordinary men, like a garment made to measure for them; but it serves as an... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Between good sense and good taste there lies the difference between a cause and its effect. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE One mark of a second-rate mind is to be always telling stories. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE This great misfortune -- to be incapable of solitude. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Mockery is often the result of a poverty of wit. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present -- which seldom happens to us... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE A man of the world must seem to be what he wishes to be thought. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE There are certain things in which mediocrity is intolerable: poetry, music, painting, public eloquen... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE All men's misfortunes spring from their hatred of being alone. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE From time to time there appear on the face of the earth men of rare and consummate excellence, who d... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Everything has been said, and we have come too late, now that men have been living and thinking for ... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Jesting is often only indigence of intellect. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE A vain man finds it wise to speak good or ill of himself; a modest man does not talk of himself. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The Opera is obviously the first draft of a fine spectacle; it suggests the idea of one. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE You may drive a dog off the King's armchair, and it will climb into the preacher's pulpit; he views ... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE As long as men are liable to die and are desirous to live, a physician will be made fun of, but he w... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE As favor and riches forsake a man, we discover in him the foolishness they concealed, and which no o... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE False greatness is unsociable and remote: conscious of its own frailty, it hides, or at least averts... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE That man is good who does good to others; if he suffers on account of the good he does, he is very g... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Grief at the absence of a loved one is happiness compared to life with a person one hates. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE Grief that is dazed and speechless is out of fashion: the modern woman mourns her husband loudly and... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE We must laugh before we are happy, for fear we die before we laugh at all. JEAN DE LA BRUYERE There is not in the world so toilsome a trade as the pursuit of fame; life concludes before you have... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE There are only two ways of getting on in the world: by one's own industry, or by the stupidity of ot... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE The slave has but one master, the ambitious man has as many as there are persons whose aid may contr... JEAN DE LA BRUYERE