Authors:

Charles Caleb Colton Quotes - Page 13

All Quotes Abuse Achievement Adversity Affection Age Aging Ambition Anger Appreciation Atheism Benevolence Character Charity Children Christianity Conflict Contentment Country Courage Crime Criticism Currency Darkness Death Design Difficulty Doubt Earth Education Energy Envy Eternity Evil Exercise Failing Fashion Fear Feelings Fighting Flattery Friends Friendship Funeral Funny Generosity Genius Giving Glory God Gold Grace Gratitude Greatness Happiness Hate Hatred Health Heart Heaven Home Honesty Honor Hope House Humanity Humility Hypocrisy Ignorance Imitation Immortality Inspiration Inspirational Integrity Jealousy Judging Justice Knowledge Language Liberty Life Literature Love Lust Lying Mathematics Memories Money Mountain Observation Opportunity Overcoming Pain Passion Past Perfection Philosophy Pleasure Poverty Power Praise Pride Prosperity Prudence Purpose Quality Quitting Rage Reading Reflection Regret Religion Repentance Reputation Revenge Revolution Running Sacrifice Science Selfishness Silence Sin Sloth Society Solitude Soul Spring Study Style Success Suffering Talent Teaching Temptation Time Truth Victory Violence Virtue War Water Weakness Wealth Wife Wine Winning Wisdom Wit Writing Youth
Hope is a prodigal young heir, and Experience is his banker; but his drafts are seldom honoured, since there is often a heavy balance against him, because he draws largely on a small capital, is not yet in possession,

Hope is a prodigal young heir, and Experience is his banker; but his drafts are seldom honoured, since there is often a heavy balance against him, because he draws largely on a small capital, is not yet in possession, and if he were, would die.

Charles Caleb Colton
Hope, Balance, Heirs
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.72

Hypocrites act by virtue.... They frame many counterfeits of her, with which they make an ostentatious parade, in all public assemblies, and processions; but the original of what they counterfeit, and which may indeed be said to have fallen from heaven, they produce so seldom, that it is cankered by the rust of sloth, and useless from non-application.

Charles Caleb Colton
Hypocrite, Hypocrisy, Heaven
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.32

Light, whether it be material or moral, is the best reformer; for it prevents those disorders which other remedies sometimes cure, but sometimes confirm.

Charles Caleb Colton
Light, Moral, Sometimes
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.421

Life is the jailer of the soul in this filthy prison, and its only deliverer is death.

Charles Caleb Colton
Life, Soul, Prison
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.344

There is an elasticity in the human mind, capable of bearing much, but which will not show itself, until a certain weight of affliction be put upon it; its powers may be compared to those vehicles whose springs are so contrived that they get on smoothly enough when loaded, but jolt confoundedly when they have nothing to bear.

Charles Caleb Colton
Spring, Adversity, Mind
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.199

With respect to the authority of great names, it should be remembered that he alone deserves to have any weight and influence with posterity, who has shown himself superior to the particular and predominant error of his own times; who, like the peak of Teneriffe, has hailed the intellectual sun before its beams have reached the horizon of common minds.

Charles Caleb Colton
Names, Errors, Mind
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.15

The most consistent men are not more unlike to others, than they are at times to themselves.

Charles Caleb Colton
Men, Consistency, Consistent
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.219

The code of poor laws has at length grown up into a tree, which, like the fabulous Upas, overshadows and poisons the land; unwholesome expedients were the bud, dilemmas and depravities have been the blossom, and danger and despair are the bitter fruit.

Charles Caleb Colton
Law, Land, Tree
Charles Caleb Colton (1821). “Lacon: or, Many things in few words”, p.221

Criticism discloses that which it would fain conceal, but conceals that which it professes to disclose; it is therefore, read by the discerning, not to discover the merits of an author, but the motives of his critic.

Charles Caleb Colton
Criticism, Merit, Motive
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.230

There is this of good in real evils; they deliver us, while they last, from the petty despotism of all that were imaginary.

Charles Caleb Colton
Real, Evil, Wickedness
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.455

We cannot think too highly of our nature, nor too humbly of ourselves.

Charles Caleb Colton
Nature, Humility, Pride
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.216

Where thou perceivest knowledge, bend the ear of attention and respect; But yield not further to the teaching, than as thy mind is warranted by reasons. Better is an obstinant disputant, that yieldeth inch by inch, Than the shallow traitor to himself, who surrendereth to half an argument.

Charles Caleb Colton
Teaching, Knowledge, Yield

The integrity that lives only on opinion would starve without it.

Charles Caleb Colton
Integrity, Opinion
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.125

Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to burn the world. Earth would become an hell; for future rewards when put off to a great distance, would cease to encourage, and future punishments to alarm.

Charles Caleb Colton
Distance, Men, World
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.201

Fashion ... has brought every thing into vogue, by turns.

Charles Caleb Colton
Fashion, Vogue, Turns
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.233

Reform is a good replete with paradox; it is a cathartic which our political quacks, like our medical, recommend to others, but will not take themselves; it is admired by all who cannot effect it, and abused by all who can; it is thought pregnant with danger, for all time that is present, but would have been extremely profitable for that which is past, and will be highly salutary for that which is to come.

Charles Caleb Colton
Past, Political, Reform
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.76

Subtract from many modern poets all that may be found in Shakespeare, and trash will remain.

Charles Caleb Colton
May, Poet, Modern
Charles Caleb Colton (1821). “Lacon: or, Many things in few words”, p.214

Living authors, therefore, are usually, bad companions. If they have not gained character, they seek to do so by methods often ridiculous, always disgusting; and if they have established a character, they are silent for fear of losing by their tongue what they have acquired by their pen--for many authors converse much more foolishly than Goldsmith, who have never written half so well.

Charles Caleb Colton
Character, Half, Tongue
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.158

For all the practical purposes of life, truth might as well be in a prison as in the folio of a schoolman; and those who release her from her cobwebbed shelf and teach her to live with men have the merit of liberating, if not of discovering, her.

Charles Caleb Colton
Men, Purpose, Might
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.199

The truly great consider, first, how they may gain the approbation of God, and, secondly, that of their own conscience. Having done this, they would then willingly conciliate the good opinion of their fellow-men. But the truly little reverse the thing. The primary object with them is to secure the applause of their fellow-men; and having effected this, the approbation of God and their own conscience may follow on as they can.

Charles Caleb Colton
Men, Atheism, Done
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.85

The intoxication of anger, like that of the grape, shows us to others, but hides us from ourselves.

Charles Caleb Colton
Anger, Hatred, Rage
Philip Dormer Stanhope (4th earl of Chesterfield.), Charles Caleb Colton (1861). “Lord Chesterfield's advice to his son on men and manners. To which are added, selections from Colton's 'Lacon'.”, p.125

He that can enjoy the intimacy of the great, and on no occasion disgust them by familiarity, or disgrace himself by servility, proves that he is as perfect a gentleman by nature as his companions are by rank.

Charles Caleb Colton
Perfect, Gentleman, Intimacy
Charles Caleb Colton (1849). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words: Address--to Those who Think”, p.127

Time is the measurer of all things, but is itself immeasurable, and the grand discloser of all things, but is itself undisclosed.

Charles Caleb Colton
Time, All Things
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.290

A thorough-paced antiquary not only remembers what all other people have thought proper to forget, but he also forgets what all other people think is proper to remember.

Charles Caleb Colton
Thinking, People, Remember
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”

Anger is practical awkwardness.

Charles Caleb Colton
Anger, Practicals, Awkwardness

You May Also Like: