The heart is never neutral....

The heart is never neutral.

It is the saying of an ancient...

It is the saying of an ancient sage that humor was the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor.

The one and only formative pow...

The one and only formative power given to man Is thought. By his thinking he not only makes character, but body and affairs, for as he thinketh within himself, so is he. Prejudice is a mist, which in our journey through the world often dims the brightest and obscures the best of all the good and glorious objects that meet us on our way.

Nothing is more ridiculous tha...

Nothing is more ridiculous than ridicule.

Men's first thoughts in this m...

Men's first thoughts in this matter are generally better than
their second; their natural notions better than those refin'd by
study, or consultation with casuists.
- Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury,

How comes it to pass, then, th...

How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in
reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule?
- Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury,

'Twas the saying of an ancient...

'Twas the saying of an ancient sage that humour was the only test
of gravity, and gravity of humour. For a subject which would not
bear raillery was suspicious; and a jest which would not bear a
serious examination was certainly false wit.
- Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury,

Truth, 'tis supposed, may bear...

Truth, 'tis supposed, may bear all lights; and one those
principal lights or natural mediums by which things are to be
viewed in order to a thorough recognition is ridicule itself.

The greatest of fools is he wh...

The greatest of fools is he who imposes on himself, and in greatest concern thinks certainly he knows that which he has least studied, and of which he is profoundly ignorant.

When men are easy in themselve...

When men are easy in themselves, they let others remain so.

The most natural beauty in the...

The most natural beauty in the world is honesty and moral truth. For all beauty is truth. True features make the beauty of the face; true proportions, the beauty of architecture; true measures, the beauty of harmony and music....

True courage is cool and calm....

True courage is cool and calm. The bravest of men have the least of a brutal, bullying insolence, and in the very time of danger are found the most serene and free.

Through certain humors or pass...

Through certain humors or passions, and from temper merely, a man may be completely miserable, let his outward circumstances be ever so fortunate.

It is the hardest thing in the...

It is the hardest thing in the world to be a good thinker without being a good self examiner.

No one was ever the better for...

No one was ever the better for advice: in general, what we called giving advice was properly taking an occasion to show our own wisdom at another's expense; and to receive advice was little better than tamely to another the occasion of raising himself a character from our defects.

Never did any soul do good but...

Never did any soul do good but it came readier to do the same again, with more enjoyment. Never was love or gratitude or bounty practiced but with increasing joy, which made the practicer still more in love with the fair act.

The passion of fear (as a mode...

The passion of fear (as a modern philosopher informs me) determines the spirits of the muscles of the knees, which are instantly ready to perform their motion, by taking up the legs with incomparable celerity, in order to remove the body out of harm's way.

It is not wit merely, but temp...

It is not wit merely, but temper, which must form the well-bred man. In the same manner it is not a head merely, but a heart and resolution, which must complete the real philosopher.

Gravity is of the very essence...

Gravity is of the very essence of imposture; it does not only mistake other things, but is apt perpetually almost to mistake itself.

Tis the strumpet's plague

Tis the strumpet's plague
To beguile many, and be beguiled by one.

Anthony Shaftesbury 03.03.2018 03:03:03 45 quotes