"Il apparaît de temps en temps sur la surface de la terre des hommes rares, exquis, qui brillent par leur vertu, et dont les qualités éminentes jettent un éclat prodigieux. Semblables à ces étoiles extraordinaires dont on ignore les causes, et dont on sait encore moins ce qu’elles deviennent après avoir disparu, ils n’ont ni aïeuls, ni descendants: ils composent seuls toute leur race."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
From time to time have appeared in the world some extraordinary and admirable men, refulgent by their virtues, and whose eminent qualities have shone with prodigious brilliancy, like those uncommon stars of which we do not know why they appear, and know still less what becomes of them after they have disappeared. These men have neither ancestors nor posterity; they alone are their whole race. — “Of Personal Merit,” #22
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Les_Caract%C3%A8res
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Les Caractères
40 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Les Caractères →
Related Quotes
"It is no more in our power to love always than it was not to love at all."
"All passions are deceptive; they conceal themselves as much as possible from others and from themselves as well. No v…"
"S’il est ordinaire d’être vivement touché des choses rares, pourquoi le sommes-nous si peu de la vertu?"
"Menippus is a bird decked in various feathers which are not his. He neither says nor feels anything, but repeats the …"
"A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune, and favor can…"
"There are some men who turn a deaf ear to reason and good advice, and wilfully go wrong for fear of being controlled."
"An intelligent man neither allows himself to be controlled nor attempts to control others; he wishes reason alone to …"
"A plain appearance is to ordinary men their proper garb: it suits them and fits them, but it adorns those persons who…"
"S’il est heureux d’avoir de la naissance, il ne l’est pas moins d’être tel qu’on ne s’informe plus si vous en avez."
"Est-ce un si grand mal d’être entendu quand on parle, et de parler comme tout le monde? Une chose vous manque, Acis, …"