Luc de Clapiers

“Reason and emotion counsel and supplement each other. Whoever heeds only the one, and puts aside the other, recklessly deprives himself of a portion of the aid granted us for the regulation of our conduct.”

“The falsest of all philosophies is that which, under the pretext of delivering men from the embarrassment of their passions, counsels idleness and the abandonment and neglect of themselves.”

“La pensée de la mort nous trompe, car elle nous fait oublier de vivre.”

“Pour exécuter de grandes choses, il faut vivre comme si on ne devait jamais mourir.”

“Are we surprised if a sick man cannot walk, or keep awake, or stand upright? Would it not be more surprising if he was the same man as when he was well? If we have a headache, or have slept badly, we are excused for telling incapable of work, and yet no one suspects us of always being lazy. Shall we deny a dying man the privilege we grant a man with a headache? And dare we assert that the man who lacks courage in his last agony never possessed virtue when he was well.”

“Magnanimity owes no account to prudence of its motives.”

“If passion sometimes counsels greater boldness than does reflection, it gives more strength to execute it.”

“La modération des grands hommes ne borne que leurs vices. La modération des faibles est médiocrité.”

“It is proof of a narrow mind when things worthy of esteem are distinguished from things worthy of love. Great minds naturally love whatever is worthy of their esteem.”

“Some authors regard morality in the same light as we regard modern architecture. Convenience is the first thing to be looked for.”

“Ceux quix craignent les hommes aiment les lois.”

“La clarté est la bonne foi des philosophes”

“Ceux qui médisent toujours, nuisent rarement; ils méditent plus de mal qu'ils n'en peuvent faire.”

“La nécessité nous délivre de l'embarras du choix.”

“L'espérance fait plus de dupes que l'habileté.”

“Les grandes pensées viennent du coeur.”