Antoine Rivarol famous quotes

Opinions, theories, and systems pass by turns over the grindstone of time, which at first gives them brilliancy and sharpness, but finally wears them out.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Time #Giving #Firsts

Man spends his life in reasoning on the past, in complaining of the present, in fearing future.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Life #Fear #Past

It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Fog #Enchantment #Add

The only thing wealth does for some people is to make them worry about losing it.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#People #Worry #Doe

Ideas are a capital that bears interest only in the hands of talent.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Hands #Ideas #Bears

Of every ten persons who talk about you, nine will say something bad, and the tenth will say something good in a bad way.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Nine #Way #Persons

There are men who gain from their wealth only the fear of losing it.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Men #Greed #Gains

To lose one's self in reverie, one must be either very happy, or very unhappy. Reverie is the child of extremes.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Children #Self #Unhappy

Gold like the sun, which melts wax, but hardens clay, expands great souls.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Soul #Gold #Clay

Very nice couplet, although there are dull stretches.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Art #Nice #Dull

Reason is an historian, but the passions are actors.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Passion #Actors #Reason

Women read each other at a single glance.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Glances

Oblivion is the rule and fame the exception, of humanity.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Humanity #Oblivion #Fame

It is not he who searches for praise who finds it.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Praise

Obtuseness is sometimes a virtue.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Sometimes #Virtue

The mischief of children is seldom actuated by malice; that of grown-up people always is.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Children #People #Malice

Axioms are delightful in theory, but impossible in practice.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Practice #Impossible #Theory

To be ungrateful is to be unnatural. The head may be thus guilty, not the heart.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Heart #Ungrateful #May

Indolence and stupidity are first cousins.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Cousin #Stupidity #Firsts

History is only time furnished with dates and rich with events.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#History #Events #Rich

The subtle sauce of malice is often indulged in by maidens of uncertain age, over their tea.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Gossip #Tea #Age

It is said that friendship between women is only a suspension of hostilities.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Friendship #Said #Hostility

Mind is the partial side of men; the heart is everything.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Heart #Men #Mind

Youth is not the era of wisdom; let us therefore have due consideration.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Eras #Youth #Consideration

Wrong is wrong; no fallacy can hide it, no subterfuge cover it so shrewdly but that the All-Seeing One will discover and punish it.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Subterfuge #Fallacy

There is nothing so unready as readiness of wit.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Wit #Readiness

The despotism of will in ideas is styled plan, project, character, obstinacy; its despotism in desires is called passion.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Passion #Character #Ideas

Poverty treads close upon the heels of great and unexpected wealth.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Poverty #Unexpected #Wealth

The cunning tempter, by avoiding the grossness of vice, often silences objections.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Silence #Vices #Avoiding

If poverty makes man groan, he yawns in opulence. When fortune exempts us from labor, nature overwhelms us with time.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Men #Opulence #Poverty

That which happens to the soil when it ceases to be cultivated by the social man happens to man himself when he foolishly forsakes society for solitude; the brambles grow up in his desert heart.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Growing Up #Heart #Men

The world is governed by love,--self-love.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Self #Self Love #World

Rumor, once started, rushes on like a river, until it mingles with, and is lost in the sea.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Sea #Rivers #Rumor

True felicity consists of its own consciousness.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Consciousness #Felicity

The personal pronoun "I" should be the coat of arms of some individuals.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Coats #Arms #Individual

Reason is the historian, but passions are the actors.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Passion #Actors #Reason

Familiarity is the root of the closest friendships, as well as the interests hatreds.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Roots #Hatred #Interest

The absolute ruler may be a Nero, but he is sometimes a Titus or Marc Aurelius; the people is often Nero, but never Marc Aurelius.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#People #Democracy #Nero

A fool may have his coat embroidered with gold, but it is a fool's coat still.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Gold #Coats #May

Memory always obeys the commands of the heart.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Memories #Heart #Command

Generally speaking, there is more wit than talent in the world. Society swarms with witty people who lack talent.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Witty #People #World

The modest man has everything to gain, and the arrogant man everything to lose; for modesty has always to deal with generosity, and arrogance with envy.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Men #Generosity #Envy

It is, no doubt, an immense advantage to have done nothing, but one should not abuse it.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Abuse #Doubt #Done

Cats don't caress us-they caress themselves on us.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Cat #Caress

What isn’t clear, isn’t French.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Clear

Vices are often habits rather than passions.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Passion #Vices #Habit

The most civilized people are as near to barbarism as the most polished steel is to rust. Nations, like metals, have only a superficial brilliancy.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#People #Political #Rust

It has been very truly said that the mob has many heads, but no brains.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Brain #Said

There is even the dignity of vice.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Vices #Dignity

The woman who too easily and ardently yielded her devotion will find that its vitality, like a bright fire, soon consumes itself.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Fire #Vitality #Devotion

Mutability is written upon all things.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Decay

Speech is external thought, and thought internal speech.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Speech #Internals

In general, indulgence for those we know is rarer than pity for those we know not.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Pity #Clemency #Indulgence

Extremes produce reaction. Beware that our boasted civilization does not lapse into barbarism.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Civilization #Doe #Lapses

Brave men do not boast nor bluster. Deeds, not words, speak for such.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Men #Brave #Deeds

Tenderness is the infancy of love.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Infancy #Tenderness

Silence never yet betrayed any one!
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Silence #Betrayed

There are some women who are flirts upon principle; they consider it their duty to make themselves as pleasing as possible to every one.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Flirting #Principles #Duty

It is a notable circumstance that mothers who are themselves open to severe comments as to their, moral character, are generally most solicitous as to the virtuous behavior of their daughters.
-- Antoine Rivarol

#Daughter #Mother #Character