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Suicide sometimes proceeds from cowardice, but not always; for cowardice sometimes prevents it; since as many live because they are afraid to die, as die because they are afraid to live.

Charles Caleb Colton

Butler compared the tongues of these eternal talkers to race-horses, which go the faster the less weight they carry.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Carry Compare Talk Weight
It is curious that some learned dunces, because they can write nonsense in languages that are dead, should despise those that talk sense in languages that are living.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Curiosity Death Language Live Talk
The avarice of the miser may be termed the grand sepulchral of all his other passions, as they successively decay.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Grand Misery Passion Success
Tyrants have not yet discovered any chains that can fetter the mind.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Chain Discover Mindset
Ignorance is a blank sheet, on which we may write; but error is a scribbled one, on which we must first erase.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Blank Erase Errors Ignorance Writing
He that is good will infallibly become better, and he that is bad will as certainly become worse; for vice, virtue, and time are three things that never stand still.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Bad Better Goodness Himself Stand Vice Virtue Worst
Life isn’t like a book. Life isn’t logical or sensible or orderly. Life is a mess most of the time. And theology must be lived in the midst of that mess.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Book Life Logic Mess Midst Time
The Grecian’s maxim would indeed be a sweeping clause in Literature; it would reduce many a giant to a pygmy; many a speech to a sentence; and many a folio to a primer.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Literature Sentence Speech Talk
Unlike the sun, intellectual luminaries shine brightest after they set.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Bright Intellectual Shine Sun
To admit that there is any such thing as chance, in the common acceptation of the term, would be to attempt to establish a power independent of God.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Anand Thakur
He that swells in prosperity will be sure to shrink in adversity.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Adversity Himself Prosperity
He that studies books alone, will know how things ought to be; and he that studies men, will know how things are.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Alone Book Himself Man Study
What would you do if you knew for sure that no one would ever find out?
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Choice Known Willing Yourself
Pain may be said to follow pleasure as its shadow; but the misfortune is that in this particular case, the substance belongs to the shadow, the emptiness to its cause.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Case Empty Follow Misfortune Pain Shadow Substance
There is nothing more imprudent than excessive prudence.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Excess Prudent
There are three modes of bearing the ills of life; by indifference, which is the most common; by philosophy, which is the most ostentatious; and by religion, which is the most effectual.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Difference Effect Life Philosophy Religion
Some read to think, these are rare; some to write, these are common; and some read to talk, and these form the great majority.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Greatness Majority Rare Reading Thinking Writing
Silence is less injurious than a weak reply.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Injurious Reply Silence Weakness
There are two principles of established acceptance in morals; first, that self-interest is the mainspring of all of our actions, and secondly, that utility is the test of their value.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Establishment Principle Test Value
If a cause be good, the most violent attack of its enemies will not injure it so much as an injudicious defence of it by its friends.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Attack Defense Enemy Friendship Goodness Violence
Diffidence is the better part of knowledge.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Better Knowledge
Cheerfulness ought to be the viaticum vitae of their life to the old; age without cheerfulness is a Lapland winter without a sun.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Cheerful Life Old Sun Winter
Nothing more completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity himself, than straight forward and simple integrity in another.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Complete Integrity Oneself
The French have a saying that whatever excellence a man may exhibit in a public station he is very apt to be ridiculous in a private one.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Excellence Himself Privacy Station Talk
Total freedom from error is what none of us will allow to our neighbors; however we may be inclined to flirt a little with such spotless perfection ourselves.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Allow Error Flirt Freedom Ourselves Perfection
The art of declamation has been sinking in value from the moment that speakers were foolish enough to publish, and hearers wise enough to read.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Art Fools Hear Moments Publish Reading Sink Talk Value
To know the pains of power, we must go to those who have it; to know its pleasures, we must go to those who are seeking it: the pains of power are real, its pleasures imaginary.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON

Imagination Known Pain Pleasure Power

Suicide sometimes proceeds from cowardice, but not always; for cowardice sometimes prevents it; since as many live because they are afraid to die, as die because they are afraid to live.

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Suicide sometimes proceeds from cowardice, but not always; for cowardice sometimes prevents it; since as many live because they are afraid to die, as die because they are afraid to live.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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