Authors:

Charles Caleb Colton Quotes - Page 17

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
Pedantry prides herself on being wrong by rules; while common sense is contented to be right without them.

Pedantry prides herself on being wrong by rules; while common sense is contented to be right without them.

Charles Caleb Colton
Pride, Common Sense, Prudence
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.35

The benevolent have the advantage of the envious, even in this present life; for the envious man is tormented not only by all the ill that befalls himself, but by all the good that happens to another; whereas the benevolent man is the better prepared to bear his own calamities unruffled, from the complacency and serenity he has secured from contemplating the prosperity of all around him.

Charles Caleb Colton
Gratitude, Men, Serenity
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”

Theory is worth but little, unless it can explain its own phenomena, and it must effect this without contradicting itself; therefore, the facts are sometimes assimilated to the theory, rather than the theory to the facts.

Charles Caleb Colton
Littles, Facts, Sometimes
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.69

It is a common observation that any fool can get money; but they are not wise that think so.

Charles Caleb Colton
Wise, Money, Thinking
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.422

Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity than straigthforward and simple integrity in another. A knave would rather quarrel with a brother knave than with a fool, but he would rather avoid a quarrel with one honest man than with both. He can combat a fool by management and address, and he can conquer a knave by temptations. But the honest man is neither to be bamboozled nor bribed.

Charles Caleb Colton
Brother, Integrity, Simple

It is an easy and vulgar thing to please the mob, and no very arduous task to astonish them.

Charles Caleb Colton
Tasks, Advertising, Easy
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.210

We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over a new one; it is established, and it is understood.

Charles Caleb Colton
Inspirational, Two, Innovation
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.218

"Lawyers Are": The only civil delinquents whose judges must of necessity be chosen from (amongst) themselves.

Charles Caleb Colton
Judging, Lawyer, Chosen

The seat of perfect contentment is in the head; for every individual is thoroughly satisfied with his own proportion of brains.

Charles Caleb Colton
Knowledge, Perfect, Brain
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.92

Envy, if surrounded on all sides by the brightness of another's prosperity, like the scorpion confined within a circle of fire, will sting itself to death.

Charles Caleb Colton
Gratitude, Fire, Circles
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.151

It is not until we have passed through the furnace that we are made to know how much dross there is in our composition.

Charles Caleb Colton
Gratitude, Made, Dross

The avarice of the miser may be termed the grand sepulchral of all his other passions, as they successively decay.

Charles Caleb Colton
Passion, Greed, Decay

Let those who would affect singularity with success first determine to be very virtuous, and they will be sure to be very singular.

Charles Caleb Colton
Loneliness, Solitude, Firsts
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.211

Memory is the friend of wit, but the treacherous ally of invention; there are many books that owe their success to two things; good memory of those who write them, and the bad memory of those who read them

Charles Caleb Colton
Memories, Book, Writing
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.160

Fame is an undertaker that pays but little attention to the living, but bedizens the dead, furnishes out their funerals, and follows them to the grave

Charles Caleb Colton
Funeral, Attention, Littles
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.219

It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or to those who, like Paley, purify it, stamp it, fix its real value, and give it currency and utility

Charles Caleb Colton
Real, Giving, Gold

The whole family of pride and ignorance are incestuous, and mutually beget each other

Charles Caleb Colton
Ignorance, Pride, Whole Family
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.190

The greatest genius is never so great as when it is chastised and subdued by the highest reason.

Charles Caleb Colton
Genius, Reason, Highest
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.24

Genius, in one respect, is like gold; numbers of persons are constantly writing about both, who have neither.

Charles Caleb Colton
Writing, Numbers, Gold
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.395

The acquirements of science may be termed the armour of the mind; but that armour would be worse than useless, that cost us all we had, and left us nothing to defend.

Charles Caleb Colton
Science, Mind, Would Be
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.123

Nobility of birth does not always insure a corresponding unity of mind; if it did, it would always act as a stimulus to noble actions; but it sometimes acts as a clog rather than a spur.

Charles Caleb Colton
Unity, Mind, Spurs
Charles Caleb Colton (1825). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words : Addressed to Those who Think”, p.83

It is not so difficult a task as to plant new truths, as to root out old errors

Charles Caleb Colton
Truth, Science, Errors
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.69

Most importantly: Don't adjust your results to build up the ego of the chief strategist. Especially if the strategist is you.

Charles Caleb Colton
Ego, Results, Chiefs

In all societies, it is advisable to associate if possible with the highest; not that the highest are always the best, but because, if disgusted there, we can descend at any time; but if we begin with the lowest, to ascend is impossible.

Charles Caleb Colton
Association, Impossible, Disgusted
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.22

By paying our other debts, we are equal with all mankind; but in refusing to pay a debt of revenge, we are superior.

Charles Caleb Colton
Revenge, Debt, Pay
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.122

You May Also Like: