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Charles Caleb Colton Quotes - Page 22

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Repartee is perfect when it effects its purpose with a double edge. It is the highest order of wit, as it indicates the coolest yet quickest exercise of genius, at a moment when the passions are roused.

Repartee is perfect when it effects its purpose with a double edge. It is the highest order of wit, as it indicates the coolest yet quickest exercise of genius, at a moment when the passions are roused.

Charles Caleb Colton
Passion, Exercise, Order

Those that will not permit their wealth to do any good for others. . . cut themselves off from the truest pleasure here and the highest happiness later.

Charles Caleb Colton
Cutting, Giving, Wealth

Injuries accompanied with insults are never forgiven: all men, on these occasions, are good haters, and lay out their revenge at compound interest.

Charles Caleb Colton
Revenge, Men, Insult
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.215

Those graces which from their presumed facility encourage all to attempt an imitation of them, are usually the most inimitable.

Charles Caleb Colton
Grace, Imitation, Facility
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.261

This world cannot explain its own difficulties without the assistance of another.

Charles Caleb Colton
Heaven, World, Difficulty
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.228

Criticism is like champagne, nothing more execrable if bad, nothing more excellent if good.

Charles Caleb Colton
Criticism, Excellent, Champagne
Charles Caleb Colton (1866). “Lacon: or, Many things in few words”, p.55

Custom looks to things that are past, and fashion to things that are present, but both of them are somewhat purblind as to things that are to come.

Charles Caleb Colton
Fashion, Past, Looks
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.232

The science of legislation is like that of medicine in one respect: that it is far more easy to point out what will do harm than what will do good.

Charles Caleb Colton
Medicine, Easy, Legislation
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.219

He [the miser] falls down and worships the god of this world, but will have neither its pomps, its vanities nor its pleasures for his trouble.

Charles Caleb Colton
Fall, Vanity, World
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.26

If the prodigal quits life in debt to others, the miser quits it still deeper in debt to himself.

Charles Caleb Colton
Debt, Quitting, Deeper
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”

Where we cannot invent, we may at least improve.

Charles Caleb Colton
May, Improvement, Invention
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.14

When certain persons abuse us, let us ask ourselves what description of characters it is that they admire; we shall often find this a very consolatory question.

Charles Caleb Colton
Character, Abuse, Criticism
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.305

The inheritance of a distinguished and noble name is a proud inheritance to him who lives worthily of it.

Charles Caleb Colton
Names, Noble, Inheritance

Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance.

Charles Caleb Colton
Genius, Literature, Nodding

The road to glory would cease to be arduous if it were trite and trodden; and great minds must be ready not only to take opportunities but to make them.

Charles Caleb Colton
Opportunity, Mind, Glory
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.46

It is more easy to forgive the weak who have injured us than the powerful whom we have injured.

Charles Caleb Colton
Powerful, Forgiving, Easy
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.34

All poets pretend to write for immortality, but the whole tribe have no objection to present pay, and present praise. Lord Burleigh is not the only statesman who has thought one hundred pounds too much for a song, though sung by Spenser; although Oliver Goldsmith is the only poet who ever considered himself to have been overpaid.

Charles Caleb Colton
Song, Writing, Pay
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.24

That politeness which we put on, in order to keep the assuming and the presumptuous at a proper distance will generally succeed. But it sometimes happens that these obtrusive characters are on such excellent terms with themselves that they put down this very politeness to the score of their own great merits and high pretensions, meeting the coldness of our reserve with a ridiculous condescension of familiarity, in order to set us at ease with ourselves.

Charles Caleb Colton
Distance, Character, Order
Charles Caleb Colton (1823). “Remarks on the Talents of Lord Byron and the Tendencies of Don Juan”, p.79

Men of strong minds and who think for themselves, should not be discouraged on finding occasionally that some of their best ideas have been anticipated by former writers; they will neither anathematize others nor despair themselves. They will rather go on discovering things before discovered, until they are rewarded with a land hitherto unknown, an empire indisputably their own, both right of conquest and of discovery.

Charles Caleb Colton
Strong, Men, Thinking

Lord Bacon has compared those who move in higher spheres to those heavenly bodies in the firmament, which have much admiration, but little rest. And it is not necessary to invest a wise man with power to convince him that it is a garment bedizened with gold, which dazzles the beholder by its splendor, but oppresses the wearer by its weight.

Charles Caleb Colton
Wise, Moving, Men
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.94

Neither can we admit that definition of genius that some would propose--"a power to accomplish all that we undertake;" for we might multiply examples to prove that this definition of genius contains more than the thing defined. Cicero failed in poetry, Pope in painting, Addison in oratory; yet it would be harsh to deny genius to these men.

Charles Caleb Colton
Men, Example, Would Be
Charles Caleb Colton (1832). “Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.196

The greatest friend of truth is Time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion is Humility.

Charles Caleb Colton
Inspirational, Inspiring, Time
Charles Caleb Colton (1824). “Lacon, Or, Many Things in a Few Words: Addressed to Those who Think”, p.90

Shining outward qualities, although they may excite first-rate expectations, are not unusually found to be the companions of second-rate abilities.

Charles Caleb Colton
Expectations, Shining, Quality
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.135

The press is the foe of rhetoric, but the friend of reason.

Charles Caleb Colton
Reason, Rhetoric, Foe
Charles Caleb Colton (1836). “Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think”, p.420

Purity lives and derives its life solely from the Spirit of God.

Charles Caleb Colton
Spirit, Purity, Spirit Of God

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