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A man who is half an idiot, but who keeps a sharp lookout and acts prudently all his life, often enjoys the pleasure of triumphing over men of more imagination than he.

Stendhal

Beauty is nothing but a promise of happiness.
STENDHAL

Beautiful Happiness Promise
Perhaps men who cannot love passionately are those who feel the effect of beauty most keenly; at any rate this is the strongest impression women can make on them.
STENDHAL

Feeling Impression Love Man Passion Woman
The more a race is governed by its passions, the less it has acquired the habit of cautious and reasoned argument, the more intense will be its love of music.
STENDHAL

Government Habit Music Passion Race Reason
The Russians imitate French ways, but always at a distance of fifty years.
STENDHAL

Distance Imitation Time
A woman of generous character will sacrifice her life a thousand times over for her lover, but will break with him for ever over a question of pride.
STENDHAL

Break Character Generosity Life Pride Question Sacrifice Woman
To find love in Paris you must go down among those classes where the absence of education and of vanity, and the struggle for bare necessities, have allowed more energy to survive.
STENDHAL

Absence Class Education Energy Family Love Necessary Struggle Survive
When you want to court a woman, court her sister first
STENDHAL

Court Herself Sister Woman Yourself
I used to think of deathlike I suppose soldiers think of it: it was a possible thing that I could well avoid by my skill.
STENDHAL

Avoid Death Possible Skill Soldier Thinking
I see but one rule: to be clear.
STENDHAL

Clear Rule See
Wounded pride can take a rich young man far who is surrounded by flatterers since birth.
STENDHAL

Birth Man Pride Rich Surround Wound Young
I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing.
STENDHAL

Crumble Myself Rule See World
Politics in a literary work, is like a gun shot in the middle of a concert, something vulgar, and however, something which is impossible to ignore.
STENDHAL

Ignorance Impossible Literature Politics Vulgar Work
Indeed, man has two different beings inside him. What devil thought of that malicious touch?
STENDHAL

Devil Different Man Touch
Signs cannot be represented, in a spy’s report, so damningly as words.
STENDHAL

Report Representation Word
The English are, I think the most obtuse and barbarous people in the world
STENDHAL

Myself Nature People Thinking World
There is no such thing as “natural law”: this expression is nothing but old nonsense… Prior to laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature suffering from hunger or cold, in short, need.
STENDHAL

Cold Hungry Law Natural Need Strength Suffering

A man who is half an idiot, but who keeps a sharp lookout and acts prudently all his life, often enjoys the pleasure of triumphing over men of more imagination than he.

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A man who is half an idiot, but who keeps a sharp lookout and acts prudently all his life, often enjoys the pleasure of triumphing over men of more imagination than he.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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